Kinshasa: the entrepreneurs encouraged to the formalization of their economic activities

Kinshasa, November 1^st, 2026 (CPA).-The entrepreneurs have been encouraged on Saturday to the formalization of their economic activities in order to enable them to benefit from support and social protection, during the business fair organised in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). “The formalisation is, in fact, a commitment to make the effort to obtain the administrative documents that will enable you to be recognised as an economic actor. And this formalisation will help you enter the economic system so that you can benefit from support and social protection.  This is an opportunity for us to encourage you to formalise your business,” Jocelyn Nappa, a lecturer at the School of Population and Development Sciences at the University of Kinshasa (Unikin) has declared. “As long as you work in the informal sector, you are condemning your business to being merely subsistence-based. The entrepreneur must not be afraid of complying with the law,” he has added. Professor Nappa has explained that economic actors must move away from a subsistence economy towards an economy of growth and opportunity, emphasising that the aim of the awareness-raising campaign he is currently leading is not simply to increase the number of businesses set up, but to ensure that these are actors of viable enterprises. For his part, Omer Katamba, an entrepreneurship coach, has raised awareness amongst entrepreneurs about financial literacy as well as business management tools. “We have sought to emphasise management tools, to show you how to seek out customers rather than simply relying on those who come to buy of their own accord. Because those who buy occasionally live in various places, the ideal is to find reliable and trustworthy partners from whom they can buy regularly,” he has said. In his view, to manage their income effectively, entrepreneurs should also keep a small notebook in which they record all their expenses. This business fair, organised by the alumni association of Institut 2 Les Bambous, was centred on two themes: ‘Entrepreneurship in DRC: challenges and opportunities’ and ‘Financial education: the key to financial prosperity’.