Story highlights
The Lisungi project has provided conditional cash transfers, training, and small business grants to refugee women in Congolese, launching agricultural cooperatives, and is now able to change their lives. The project introduced digital payments via mobile money for transparency and security. Since its launch in 2014, Lisungi has benefited 76,000 individuals with cash transfers and 95,000 business subsidies, and its delivery system has been institutionalized by the Congolese government through its national safety net program.
Claudine Moukabagwiza stands proudly on an Igna farm surrounded by thriving crops. She has a common sense with 24 women working with 24 women.
Thanks to Lisungi’s conditional cash transfers, training and small business grants, they established an agricultural cooperative, turning small plots of land into thriving farms. “When we arrived in Congo, we had nothing,” recalls Claudine. “But wealth comes from the soil.”
Their journey has not stopped with farming. Their success allowed them to buy land, increase production and establish a savings system. “So we named the Association, “wealth is under the soil,” explains the association’s president. “We want to buy more land, grow more food, save more, and we need to solve our storage and delivery challenges.”
Empowering women beyond financial aid
Historically, many women, particularly refugee women, have faced major barriers to land ownership and access to credit. The Lisungi project addressed these deep-rooted inequalities by paying direct cash grants to women and providing training to women and men. The project further promoted gender equality through community events, awareness campaigns and training sessions on gender-based violence (GBV). Additionally, the project introduced digital payments via mobile money, reducing the risk of corruption and ensuring transparency and security.
A stronger social safety net for vulnerable households in Congo
Risungi (meaning “help” or “support” for Lingala) was launched in 2014 in collaboration with the World Bank, and was designed to reduce poverty and strengthen human capital. With $34 million in funding, the project combined conditional cash transfers (related to school attendance and health checks) with business grants, education and apprenticeships. Between 2015 and 2023, approximately 76,000 people benefited from Lisungi’s conditional cash transfers, and over 95,000 individuals received grants to launch small businesses. It officially closed on February 29, 2024, but the effects remained alive. The Congolese government institutionalized a delivery system built through the National Safety Net Program (National De Filets Sociaux), which was built by the Lisungi program. This reflects the Congolese government’s great commitment to making social protection a national priority.
The World Bank continues to support social protection in the Congo through its Projet de Protection Sociale et d’conclusion Productive Dejeans.
Investing in a delivery system
What sets Lisungi apart is its comprehensive single social registry that helps identify and register vulnerable households. Currently, the database contains information about 852,149 households with a population of 6.1 million in Congo. The registry remains an important tool for coordinating various social programs and ensuring efficiency, transparency and collaboration among UN agencies (AFDs), such as the Government of Congo, the World Bank, and the World Food Programme (WFP).
Combining humanitarian action with development support
One of Lisungi’s most important outcomes was its comprehensive approach to the refugee population. With additional funding from the World Bank’s IDA18 subwindow for IDA18 refugees and host communities gaining $22 million, the project expanded its reach to more than 60,000 refugees and asylum seekers in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda.
Through awareness campaigns and workshops, the project also helped to reduce tensions between refugees and host communities, as well as between the majority and Indigenous peoples in Bantu. Transparent communications regarding beneficiary choice, beneficiary rights and payment processes helped to build trust and social cohesion. Lisungi exists as a success story for the collaboration between the World Bank and UNHCR, demonstrating how strategic partnerships can increase the effectiveness of social protection initiatives.
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I’ll make sure no one’s left
Lisungi’s comprehensive targeting has reached beyond refugees and host communities. It also provided support to disabled people, elderly people, indigenous people, pregnant women, and children aged 0-14 years. For example, in the northern part of the country, over 71,000 people received access to free health care, 900 young people benefited from apprentice grants for skill training, and 4,830 Indigenous children benefited from school kits.
For women like Claudine, the project was more than just financial aid. This was an opportunity to change my life. “Before Ringgi, I was unable to meet my basic needs. It helped me put food on the table and pay my children’s school. This project gave us hope for the future.” Throughout the Congo, women change lives through Ringgi’s cash transfer and human development efforts, planting seeds for lasting change.
