The Vice-Prime Minister of DRC who is also the Minister of Environment H.E Eve Bazaiba officially opened the Kenya – DRC Trade Mission 2021, a 15-day business networking initiative organized by the governments of Kenya and DRC in partnership with Equity Group. counterparts in DRC in exploring opportunities that have the potential to Unlock Trade, Tourism, and Investment opportunities in DRC and the Great Lakes Region.
The trade mission, which brings together Kenyan and DRC investors and entrepreneurs, will be held in four of DRC’s biggest cities that is, Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, Goma, and Mbuji Mayi. SMEs will have an opportunity to explore opportunities in DRC through business forums and panel discussions moderated by experts in various fields, site visits to various businesses and locations of interest, networking sessions, and trade exhibitions that will allow businesses to showcase their products and services.
Speaking during the official opening ceremony, the Vice-Prime Minister of DRC H.E Eve Bazaiba expressed delight in seeing two sovereign States from the East and Central Africa region championing the growth and integration of Africa through trade and investment.
“I am delighted to see that what began as a discussion between the DRC President H.E President Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo and Kenyan President H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta, to strengthen the relations between our two countries through trade and investments, formally kick off through this trade mission. This Mission has sparked interest amongst the business community and the turnout here in Kinshasa is a clear indication that DRC is ready and open to growing its economy through working with both the private and public sectors. As a country, we hope to leverage on existing infrastructure including the trade corridors to create regional supply chains in form of human expertise, raw material, and processed and packaged goods.”
The Trade Mission comes at a time when DRC has received approval from the EAC Council of Ministers to join the trading bloc, a move that is expected to open up the country and the region to fair competition and trade.
As part of efforts to make entry into DRC seamless, the 253 Kenyan delegates who landed on Monday on a chartered flight have been booked in various hotels within Kinshasa and were given exceptional visa issuing, airport clearance and COVID-19 testing so as to facilitate a warm stay within the DRC.
The Kinshasa trade mission lasted a total of 4 days, and the delegation is expected to move to Lubumbashi, the third largest city in the DRC for another 4 days before moving to Goma and later Mbuji Mayi. The mission is expected to expose the local entrepreneurs to opportunities in the service industry, manufacturing, mining, agriculture among other sectors.