Kinshasa, September 23rd, 2026 (CPA) – Congolese entrepreneurs were invited on Wednesday in Kinshasa, the capital, by the Director-General of the Universal Service Development Fund (FDSU) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to embrace connectivity as a means of accessing innovation, finance and markets, during the first edition of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship .
“The aim was to establish a link between connectivity and entrepreneurs. It was about demonstrating that an entrepreneur who is not connected lacks access to resources, innovation and markets. That is why we are encouraging them to embrace connectivity to boost their development,” has said Paterne Binene, General-Director of the FDSU. “We made it clear to them that the mission entrusted to us by the President of the Republic, His Excellency Felix Antoine Tshisekedi, was to connect all Congolese people who are currently overlooked – those living in rural and peri-urban areas, who are of no interest to economic operators,” he has added.
The FDSU’s Director-General took the opportunity to explain the importance of connectivity in rural and urban areas.
“Today, when we talk about connectivity, we should picture a child with access to certified educational content or a doctor in an urban area consulting with patients in villages or regulated communities. You will see farmers who have access to information to improve or develop their farming practices. So there are quite a few opportunities that connectivity brings,” he has said.
He pointed out that connectivity opens up numerous opportunities for entrepreneurs to capitalise on; all it takes is belief in these opportunities and the ability to identify the specific challenges faced in different localities in order to provide solutions through connectivity. Mr Binene took the opportunity to urge young entrepreneurs to turn their challenges into opportunities for the country’s economic development.
“The message is simple: you must be bold, turn problems into opportunities, think critically and succeed in meeting the needs of the Congolese people,” has concluded the Director-General. The theme of this first edition of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fair is: “Innovation, entrepreneurship and economic transformation: building new dynamics for African growth”.ACP/