The chamber has three key focus areas of interest. These sectors are Agricuture, ICT and Industry. We are however not limited to these areas alone.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo offers several investment opportunities in the agricultural sector from production to marketing, in order to create a competitive value chain in the sub-region.
- With its exceptional agronomic potential and an area of agricultural land unequalled in Africa, the DRC is able to feed 2 billion people.
- More than 80 million hectares of arable lands, of which less than 10% are currently exploited. The diversity of climates, supported by an important hydrographic network allows for a wide range of agricultural speculation.
- The grasslands and savannahs are likely to support a livestock population of around 40 million head of cattle.
- Tropical forests, which occupy 135 million hectares, or 52% of the territory, constitute an important reserve of biodiversity and developable land.
- Potential for irrigation is estimated at 4 million hectares, it is currently still modest.
- The fishing potential, located in the Congolese parts of the Atlantic Ocean, the Congo River and all the lakes, is estimated at 707,000 tons of fish per year.
The Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sector has remained without an updated sector strategic framework since the last Sector Policy Document (DPS) defined in 2009. At the regional and international level, the DRC must respond to the challenges of growing its tele – density and its ICT penetration rate.
Due to these challenges the government recently launched the “National Digital Plan” initiative. This plan is based on 4 strategic pillars: Infrastructures, Content, Application uses, Governance – Regulation.
The emphasis is on the following:
- The establishment and modernization of infrastructure;
- Extension of telecom coverage and digital access;
- Securing channels and access to digital content;
- The digital transformation of administrations and businesses;
- Operation of financial technology platforms;
- Improvement of human capital;
- Production, promotion, hosting and safeguarding of national content;
- Monitoring and ownership of digital technological progress;
- Digital promotion through public policies.
The DR Congo has several potentials to develop its industrial sector, namely:
- Abundant and cheap labor;
- Diversity of raw materials (wood, oil, minerals, quartz, etc.), favorable to the development of the national industrial fabric;
- Global internal market of more than 90 million potential consumers, expandable at sub-regional level;
- Existence of 80 million hectares of arable land conducive to the development of agro-industry;
- Existence of a large market share in the various industrial sectors, etc.;
The priority industrial sectors of the DRC are:
- Agro-industry
- Building materials,
- Mining and metallurgy and
- Packaging as a support sector
The DRC offers a varied range of tourist attractions through different provinces that present multifaceted characteristics that can be exploited for the development of several types of tourism (seaside, cultural, leisure, discovery, business, safaris…).
These are:
- 25 million hectares, i.e. 12% of the national territory made up of protected areas;
- 7 National Parks and 57 Reserves and Hunting Areas, 5 of which are on the UNESCO World Heritage List (VIRUNGA*, KAHUZI BIEGA*, GARAMBA* SALONGA* and the OKAPIS Wildlife Reserve).
- 4 endemic species: Mountain Gorilla, Okapi, Bonobo (dwarf chimpanzee), Congolese Peacock;
- A variety of ecosystems covering nearly 145 million hectares, the second largest tropical forest in the world after the Amazon and one of the planet’s biodiversity reserves.
- Natural sites (the Congo River, the Atlantic coast (37 km), the impressive waterfalls, the lakes and their contours, the mountainous areas of the East); built (heritage monuments, religious buildings; and cultural (a rich mix of cultures and traditions around 450 ethnic groups).
- 70,000,000 inhabitants, the Congolese population is a privileged target of tourism promoters, especially youth in search of leisure activities.
Reception infrastructures: 284 airport platforms including 5 international airports, 349 travel agencies divided into three categories including those affiliated to IATA and other local ones; 3,235 unclassified and classified hotels with a total installed capacity of 27,963 rooms; 4,500 km of navigable waterways.