Kinshasa, August 4th, 2026 (CPA).- A call to make sanitation a business sector has been launched on Tuesday by an entrepreneur at the 7th Congress of Women Leaders held in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
“The city-province of Kinshasa produces 16,000 tonnes of rubbish a day; it is a market to be exploited by Congolese entrepreneurs to recycle this waste. What should make this field a business sector,” has declared Junion Kalonji, an entrepreneur and business leader in DRC, in his speech. “Every individual in Kinshasa produces at least 1 kilogramme of waste a day. We don’t keep this waste. After drinking water or eating something, we absolutely must throw away our rubbish. Individually, it may seem insignificant, but collectively in Kinshasa, we produce no less than 16,000 tonnes of waste every day that we need to clean up – it’s a promising market,” he has added.
He has praised the organisation of Women Leaders Congress, emphasizing that behind every woman, he has noted, there is a man supporting her. This edition, organised under the theme: ‘From insalubrity to entrepreneurship: when women decide to take action for sanitation, health and the climate’, has gathered decision-makers, experts, women leaders, partners and civil society representatives in order to brainstorm concrete and innovative solutions to support sanitation, public health, environmental protection and the economic empowerment of women in DRC.