Working Paper

Internal Mobility and Youth Entrepreneurship in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

This paper highlights the relationship between the mobility of young people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and their involvement in entrepreneurship. Despite the destruction of transport infrastructure during the long period of war, the DRC is characterized by high internal mobility that exceeds 20%, particularly among the people whose age ranges between 15 and 30 years. Attracted by opportunities in some regions of the country, these migrants are likely to be oriented towards entrepreneurial activities in their new locations. Using data from the 1-2-3 survey, conducted in 2005 by the National Institute of Statistics of the Congo (INS) in collaboration with the Economic
and Statistical Observatory of Sub-Saharan Africa (AFRISTAT), this paper draws the profile
of young internal migrants and highlights the determinants of the decision to migrate. It
identifies preferred geographical destination of migrants, and establishes the link between the characteristics of young migrants and their commitment to entrepreneurial activity.ce document est également disponible en français : Mobilité interne et entrepreneuriat des jeunes en République démocratique du Congo