Conakry, Guinea - The Republic of Guinea is taking a decisive step toward the promotion of decent work and the expansion of social protection by proactively engaging in the Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions.
Guinea joined the Global Accelerator as a Pathfinder Country through a high-level commitment in June 2024. An inter-agency United Nations mission was organized, led by Ms Valérie Schmitt, Deputy Director, Universal Social Protection Department, ILO and Ms Samira Daoud, Director, ILO Decent Work Team and ILO Country Office for Senegal, the Gambia, and Guinea, along with UNDP, UNICEF and the World Bank, from 10-14 November, 2025.
Guinea has a particularly low employment rate (52 per cent overall and 42 per cent for women), a very high level of informality (96 per cent), and extremely limited social protection coverage (3.7 per cent). However, the rollout of the Simandou 2040 Programme as the national development strategy represents a major opportunity to steer the country towards an inclusive growth trajectory capable of reducing inequalities and social vulnerability.
The mission provided an opportunity for all national stakeholders – the Minister of Labour and Civil Service, the Minister of Youth and their teams, representatives from the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, representatives of workers and employers, as well as technical and financing partners – to engage in dialogue on the economic and social ambitions of the Simandou 2040 Programme and on the contribution of the Global Accelerator to its achievement.
Support from the Global Accelerator was identified as essential to ensure that the substantial investments and benefits generated by the implementation of the Simandou mega-mine project translate into large-scale creation of decent jobs, both for workers directly involved in the projects (including workers formerly employed in the Simandou corridor) and for the population at large.
Specific discussions on health and wellbeing – one the five pillars of the Simandou 2040 Programme – were held with the government, along with broad discussions on reducing inequalities and improving human development indicators, which helped clarify how these objectives could be operationalized within the priorities of the Accelerator’s national roadmap.
Guinean authorities also emphasized the importance of mainstreaming the vision and tools of the Global Accelerator across all 122 development projects associated with the Simandou 2040 Programme, implemented with public and private partners, in order to maximize their social impact, particularly in terms of decent job creation and the expansion of social protection.
Mr Faya François Bourouno, Minister of Labour and Civil Service, welcomed the support provided by the Global Accelerator teams and highlighted the strong convergence between the vision underpinning this initiative and the ambition of the Simandou 2040 Programme, championed by the President, Mr Mamadi Doumbouya.
In the first quarter of 2026, an initial project jointly implemented by the ILO, UNDP and the World Bank will translate this shared commitment of the Guinean authorities, international partners and the United Nations system into concrete action. The project will support the participatory development of the Global Accelerator’s roadmap based on the priorities of the national development strategy. It will also aid the implementation of key strategic initiatives, including the national employment policy, the design and rollout of a social protection scheme adapted to workers in the informal economy, and efforts to strengthen the social impact of the 122 projects under the Simandou Programme as part of a sustained dialogue with the many private stakeholders involved in their implementation.