In brief
Côte d'Ivoire will begin an 18‑ to 24‑month pilot project funded around 3.5 million U.S. dollars to help returning migrants reintegrate socially and economically, the ministry said. The program, named KITLANY and managed by Stay in Africa, will offer psychosocial support, vocational training, and job creation to 300 participants and produce 150 direct jobs.
At a ceremony in Abidjan on Tuesday, officials unveiled a new program that will run for 18 to 24 months to help migrants who have returned from abroad rebuild their lives, a government minister said.
Background
The move comes after the government counted 4,125 returning migrants who had received support by the end of September, compared with 2,313 for the whole of 2025. The 3.5‑million‑U.S.‑dollar effort is intended to build on those earlier interventions and add new services aimed at easing economic and social integration.
Funding and Partnerships
The project is being financed in part through pledges aimed at raising more than half of the total cost, the ministry said. The donor roundtables are scheduled to take place during the two‑day conference on migrants’ reintegration, and the government hopes to secure more than 50 percent of the budget through these discussions.
The initiative, officially called the KITLANY project, is overseen by the international platform Stay in Africa, a body that coordinates programmes for migrants across the continent. The platform will deliver programmes that blend psychosocial support with practical training and employment opportunities.
Participant Profile
The programme is aimed at 300 people. Two‑hundred of them will be recent homeward‑bound migrants, and another 100 will come from local communities that have been affected by migration trends. By focusing on these groups, the ministry hopes to foster community cohesion as well as individual uplift.
Strong domestic component: 150 direct jobs will be created as a result of the project, and 1,200 others are expected to benefit indirectly. The jobs will primarily support the new training initiatives and the administrative work required to run the pilot.
Objectives and Expected Outcomes
Adama Dosso, the minister delegate in charge of African Integration and Ivorians Abroad, said the project would “open up new prospects for personal recovery, economic integration and contribution to sustainable development.” He emphasized that the programme intends to help returning migrants move from the end of difficult journeys to a new start in their homeland.
In terms of quantitative targets, the project will measure success by the number of individuals who receive psychosocial counselling, secure jobs, and remain in place after the training period. The programme offers a structured pathway from support to self‑sufficiency.
Resilience and sustainability: The funding plan suggests that the initiative is designed to be a model that can be scaled up after the pilot assessment. Kotablyal’s long‑term vision is to create a self‑reinforcing system in which returning migrants can become mentors and employers for future arrivals.
Implications for Broader Migration Policy
The project also ties into the region’s broader efforts to manage migration flows. By embedding migrants who have already found their way back into the economy, the ministry hopes to diminish the incentives for irregular return and to foster a more orderly, dignified reintegration process.
The initiative may signal a shift in Côte d’Ivoire’s policy on migration. The government council is currently in discussion with other West African nations about resembling set‑up that passes on naturalized expertise and creating a robust framework for migrant return across the region.
With the launch of KITLANY, Abidjan has joined several countries that are incorporating budgeted programmes aimed at creating smoother migration circuits and lowering the economic toll on families that lose members to the outside world.
