254 300
26 Kenyan companies have committed trade investments worth $1.6Billion in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The 26 traders are part of the Kenya delegation that participated in last year’s Kenya-DRC Trade Mission organized by the Government of Kenya and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in partnership with Equity Group.
Some of the companies who have made commitments include Rentco Africa Limited, Optiven Group, Greenlight Planet Limited, Jumbo Foam Limited, BIDCO, Geomaps, Nyanja Associates in DRC among others.
The announcement was made in the presence of DRC’s President His Excellency Felix Tshisekedi at a business dinner hosted by Equity Group to celebrate the signing of the accession treaty by DRC after admission into the East African Community (EAC) and in furtherance of the Kenya-DRC Trade relations. The dinner was attended by the Kenya DRC trade mission delegation comprising of government officials including Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and Enterprise Development Betty Maina and some of the Kenyan traders who participated in the trade mission last year.
While speaking at the event, Equity Group Managing Director and CEO Dr. James Mwangi expressed his gratitude to President Felix Tshisekedi and his government for the support during the trade mission and further expressed Equity’s commitment to boost investment in the country with an announcement of USD 100M capital injection in EquityBCDC to enhance Equity’s capacity to fund development projects and large mining & manufacturing companies in DRC.
Dr. Mwangi also noted that among the 26 companies who’ve made their commitments some will require DRC’s government support and made a plea to the DRC government to assist them conduct feasibility studies. Some of these firms include Kenya Builders & Concrete Co. Ltd that is looking to set up a cement company and Tru Foods Limited looking to set up an edible oil manufacturing plant.
This follows the signing of the accession treaty into the East African Community (EAC) by DRC after admission as the seventh member of the EAC regional bloc during the virtual 19th Extraordinary Summit of EAC Heads of State chaired by President Kenyatta on March 8th.
In November and December 2021, over 350 Kenyan MSMEs and entrepreneurs from different sectors of the economy including general trade, manufacturing, agriculture, construction and engineering among others visited four cities in DRC and interacted with over 7,000 DRC business people to explore trade, tourism and investment opportunities.
The DRC has a population of nearly 100 million and offers Kenyan entrepreneurs a huge market for their agriculture produce, locally manufactured goods and additional opportunities in the service industry –hotels as well as professional services.