Right from the heart of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, the digital innovation center fosters innovation and helps bridge the digital divide across Africa. 

Lumumba Lab, or LLab, is a cultural, civic, and digital mediation venue located in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Founded in 2012 by Filip Kabeya and Idriss Mangaya, this innovation laboratory is on a mission to bridge the digital divide and boost employment in the DRC, through digital innovation.

LLab offers a variety of activities and programs around the use and manufacture of digital tools. It particularly focuses on women, people living with disabilities, and those living in marginalized territories.  

Its activities include La Mine, a training program aimed at equipping women with digital skills to help them set up their businesses or find a job.   There’s also Handihack, which promotes the inclusion of disabled people through digital training courses. La Villa Digitale, meanwhile, is a collaborative space that encourages citizen innovation in selected communities and engages in sustainable actions to support the communities’ initiatives.  

Every year, it touches the lives of over 6,000 people and organizes at least 30 training courses. In 2019, it organized the Lumumba Lab Tech Awards to encourage champions who have made their mark on the digital ecosystem in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

LLab is inspired by one of the sentences contained in the last letter sent  by Congolese national hero Patrice Lumumba to his wife: “The day will come when [...], Africa will write its own history and in both north and south it will be a history of glory and dignity.” As a contribution to that history, LLab wants to help write Africa's digital history, by highlighting innovations that have a social impact and are in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Melchior Koba