Twenty six (26) Kenyan companies have committed trade investments worth Ksh.115.4 billion (US$.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 that 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 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.
“…my government has put in place reforms to support investors in the DRC. Some of them include a three-axis program to protect investment and ensure a good investment climate that consists of legal and security investment, improvement of the tax systems to allow flow of goods in and out of DRC and access to loans for economic cooperators. He has also created an agency in charge of the improvement of business climate to link the institutions to improve both local and foreign investments,” said President Felix Tshisekedi.
Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and Enterprise Development Betty Maina thanked President Tshisekedi for joining the EAC business community and celebrated the growing links between Kenya and DRC following last year’s activities.
CS Maina acknowledged the significance of DRC’s accession to the East African Community (EAC) and as the 6th leading Kenya export market as she reiterated the government’s support to the business community in their reach outs in Kenya and in the DRC.
Equity Group Managing Director and CEO Dr. James Mwangi said the bank will invest announcement of Ksh.11.5 billion in EquityBCDC to enhance Equity’s capacity to fund development projects and large mining & manufacturing companies in DRC.
Dr. Mwangi urged the DR Congo government to support 26 companies that have pledged to invest in the country by conducting feasibility studies.
Kenya Builders & Concrete Co. Ltd is looking to set up a cement company together with Tru Foods Limited which is also 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 8, 2022.
Presidents Uhuru Kenyatta and his DR Congo counterpart Tshisekedi signed the treaty of accession of DRC into the EAC on April 8, 2022, at State House, Nairobi.
The signing of the treaty of accession followed the admission of DR Congo into the EAC as the seventh member of the regional bloc during the virtual 19th Extraordinary Summit of EAC Heads of State chaired by President Kenyatta on March 29.
“With the accession of the DRC, our Community’s population now stands at about 300 million and our combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will now stand at $250 billion,” said President Kenyatta.
The accession of DR Congo as a member of the EAC will also strengthen the economic muscle and competitiveness of the regional economic bloc in the continent as well as globally.
