Kinshasa, April 18th, 2025 (CPA) – The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo has signed a number of decrees aimed at facilitating investment and giving it a tax status, the Minister of Industry announced on Thursday in Kinshasa at the launch of the first edition of the entrepreneurship expo.‘We have just signed a certain number of decrees for entrepreneurship and handicrafts to facilitate investment, a tax system and access to support,’ said Louis Watum Kabamba, Minister for Industry and the Development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. ‘I have waited for your suggestions, but I want us to move on to implementation, because the decrees we have signed must be applied. I want your structures and organisations to come to the ministry so that we can pool our intelligence and make this great journey together, because you won’t make it alone,’ he added. Minister Watum took the opportunity to invite participants in the conference to consume locally, telling them that no one else would do it for them. ‘From my morning coffee to the shoes and telephone I use today are made in Congo’, he said. The minister announced that the Democratic Republic of Congo has been providing funding for a few days now to set up a company to manufacture the ‘made in Congo’ phones that he himself uses, so that the minerals used to make the phones can be processed locally. ‘To support such a project at our level, we need to have the mindset of consuming locally,’ he advised.
He invited the entrepreneurs to make a greater effort, not to be discouraged by the difficulties of local financing that they are experiencing, but rather to develop a mindset of entrepreneurial success. ‘Entrepreneurship is a state of mind based on perseverance and vision, and you have to be prepared to pay the price yourself for financial education’, the Minister concluded.
Supporting local production to build a future for young people
Aurelie Nguwa, coordinator of the Congo Business Exposition, pointed out that supporting and promoting local production is not just about creating jobs and developing the economy, but also about building a future for young people and restoring the dignity of families. ‘Producing locally is not just about strengthening the economy, it’s also about creating jobs, it’s about creating wealth, it’s about restoring the dignity of families, it’s about giving hope to our young people, it’s about building a future for our nation. We are convinced that the development of the Democratic Republic will not come from elsewhere, it will come from here, from us, from you and from every local initiative that is supported, promoted and accompanied’, said Aurelie Nguwa, coordinator of the Congo Business Exposition.
Ms Nguwa pointed out that the chosen theme of the event – promoting and enhancing local production to boost the economy during and after the security crisis in the DRC – is not just a slogan, but a patriotic commitment and a choice for the survival and dignity of a country brimming with the wealth, talent and know-how of Congolese entrepreneurs. Congo Business is a platform whose mission is to create opportunities for entrepreneurs in the DRC. ACP/