Kinshasa, April 28th, 2025 (CPA) – Environmental education and the responsibility of women in protecting the environment were discussed on Saturday in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), at a summit of women entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs from the Congo.
‘In our markets, women predominate. Environmental and ecological education must start at an early age. That’s why I’m inviting women to become aware of their leading role in protecting the environment’, said Julia-Jeannette Bosingizi, a specialist in environmental and ecological issues. ‘It is women who instill values in children. You have to make a commitment to change the Congo, the city of Kinshasa into ‘Kin la belle’ (…). It’s a decision that every woman has to make right now’, she added, before calling on women entrepreneurs to take “Salongo” initiatives every Saturday to influence other women. ‘Let’s plant trees in our streets and educate our children about the environment and ecology. Tell me: ‘I won’t throw any more rubbish on the ground, in the gutters’, and let’s not look for the devil elsewhere, because we are responsible for the deterioration of our environment’, said Ms Bosingizi. Myriam Sefu Onasaka, national coordinator of the Congo Network of Women Entrepreneurs and Social Workers (RFESC), recommended that women manage and transform biodegradable and non-degradable waste to renew the city of Kinshasa. ‘Women need to be aware of and give value to our waste, because everything can be transformed. We all have a great responsibility towards our country. The waste from our agricultural products and (plastics) can be transformed into petrol, composites for agriculture, bricks and paving stones for our plots (…)’, she said. She also urged the DRC authorities to provide the women with materials, such as vehicles to transport the waste to the processing sites that already exist.
The role of women in food self-sufficiency
Grégoire Mutshail, Minister in charge of Agriculture and Food Security, spoke of the role of women in ensuring food self-sufficiency for the development and emergence of the Democratic Republic of Congo. ‘We must have our own seeds. The role of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security is to accompany you, support you, inform you and train you in innovation in the field of agriculture and food security’, he declared. According to Minister Mutshail, women must also turn to agriculture for the country’s socio-economic development and achieve real independence.
‘We guarantee to accompany you from song to fork. We have our work cut out for us, but together we can provide ourselves with healthy food by producing our own seeds. We are waiting for the clove and laurel leaf seeds that we will distribute to the women’, he emphasized. The summit of women entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs of the Congo was an awareness-raising day, part of the mission to build women’s capacities through financial education, women’s entrepreneurship, micro-finance, as well as raising awareness of violence against women and the promotion of agriculture through access to public contracts. The significant presence of women at this day of exchanges was a strong signal in favour of the institutional commitment to the economic and social progress of women in the Democratic Republic of Congo.