Kinshasa, July 5th, 2026 (CPA). – The Minister in charge of Entrepreneurship and the Development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and the Minister in charge of Foreign Trade have arrived in Lubumbashi (in the south-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo) on Sunday, with the aim to support the industrialisation efforts of local businesses, CPA has learnt from an official source.
“We have a two-pronged mission: an industrial aspect and a commercial aspect, focused on our trade corridors, particularly in the region, as well as on our foreign trade. We are here to support the industrialisation efforts being led here by certain companies. We also want to assess the extent to which we need to continue protecting local industry in the face of competition that can sometimes prove unfair, particularly with regard to industries that are still in their infancy. It is important to be able to protect them,” has declared Justin Kalumba, Minister in charge of Entrepreneurship.
According to the source, a key aspect of this mission is also to boost the competitiveness of local production. Furthermore, the same source has explained that, this Monday, July 6th, the two government ministers will, amongst other things, inaugurate DRC’s very first square tube production facility and lay the foundation stone for an industrial lubricants production plant. This mission illustrates the government’s commitment to promote a sustainable industrialisation, support investors and strengthen the protection of local industries, which are key drivers of job creation and economic development. CPA/