Investment opportunities in DR Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo is a key player on the African continent. It has one of the highest growth rates in the sub-Saharan region. Thanks to its natural resources and demographic potential, the DRC has undeniable economic advantages.

To reverse the current trend in the structure of the Congolese economy, which is dominated by the primary sector, the Government of the Republic, through the implementation of the National Strategic Development Plan, intends to implement a strategy for the diversification of its economy based on the development of the following sectors:

• Agriculture and agri-food chain
• Forestry and wood processing, sales industry
• Mining industry
• Real estate and building materials
• Tourism and hotel business
• Financial services

From the point of view of balanced development of regions, the diversification strategy will lead to the creation of “bright spots of development” (PLD), including agro-industrial parks and special economic zones. Taking into account the natural wealth of the country and the geographical location of natural resources, the government is considering the possibility of creating "Growth Poles", which are actually PLDs, twenty (20) agro-industrial parks and several SEZs.

Fishing

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has significant fishing potential, with production estimated at more than 707,000 tons per year. The fisheries sector includes marine fisheries, inland fisheries and aquaculture. Offshore production takes place on a small coastline of approximately 40 km, sandwiched between Angola and the Republic of Congo, with an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) estimated at 1,150 km.

Freshwater fisheries resources inhabit the country's numerous lakes, swamps and floodplains, fed by the rich hydrographic system of the Congo Basin.

Aquaculture is primarily based on family-based subsistence fish farming, which is dominated by tilapia and catfish, although there is potential for other species.

Livestock

DR Congo has a breeding potential of 40 million heads of large livestock. However, Congo's national herd is very diverse, with 11% cattle, 14% sheep, 15% pigs and 60% goats.

It should be noted that due to resistance to trypanosomiasis, goats are bred in all provinces of the DRC. Thanks to this advantage, the DRC is a candidate for the establishment of a research center of excellence for improving goat productivity in East and Central Africa within the framework of the ECAAT (East and Central Africa Agricultural Transformation) project, supported by the World Health Organization.

Forest production

• DRC has significant forest potential, namely:
• 150,000,000 hectares, or 47% of African tropical forests and 6% of the world's tropical reserves
• More than 1,000 forest species have been identified, including those in great demand throughout the world
• Production potential: 10,000,000 m3 of wood/year

The government's vision is to support projects that will allow about 3 million hectares of forest to be planted through reforestation programs by 2025, which will sequester about 3 million tons of CO2 equivalent and create about 30 thousand long-term and 300 thousand temporary jobs.

Information and Communication Technologies

The government's vision in this sector is to fully integrate DR Congo into the digital economy. In this perspective, the contribution of ICT to the economic and social development of the country is expected to increase significantly, benefiting sector players, government services and households. This should lead to improved management of this sector, investment in national broadband infrastructure, improved public access to ICT and the transition from analogue to digital television (TNT), etc.

By 2030, all public administration, as well as specialized services at border crossings, should be computerized, and the country should have sufficient high-quality human capital in the field of ICT. By 2050, more than 50% of households will use fiber optics, and more than 90% will connect to the Internet through their mobile phone. The DRC needs to develop the market for robotics (digital technologies), software, video games and 3D technologies. E-commerce is also expected to grow significantly.

Projects underway:

1. SNEL Project This is a project to rehabilitate the SNEL network and connect it to the South African Power Pool (SAPMP project), a fiber optic earth cable (48 fibers) is to be laid on the high voltage power lines connecting Inga with Zambia. Since SNEL's own transmission needs are limited, it will have excess capacity that it plans to sell, directly or indirectly, to local operators.
2. WAFS Project The West African Festoon System is a regional broadband project with some neighboring countries to connect to high-speed bandwidth and SAT3 submarine cable.
3. CAB ProjectThe Central African Highway is financed by the World Bank.
4. RCIP Regional ProgramThis is a World Bank program to finance, through private sector partnerships, national and regional broadband infrastructure.

It should be noted that, compared to the DRC's demographics and market development, telephony and Internet penetration rates are still very low. This represents a business opportunity that is likely to be taken advantage of by new investors.

Prospects for investors:

• Construction of a modern national broadband telecommunications infrastructure
• Implementation of universal telecentres in all corners of the country
• Computerization of public administration, specialized services and border posts
• Implementation of mechanisms for managing Internet exchange points, i.e. Internetworking centers deployed by Internet service providers
• Hosting Google cache servers in Kinshasa to help improve access to Google content for end users
• The RDC exchange point project, the goal of which is to provide the country with the infrastructure to unite national networks

Housing and real estate

Prospects for investors:

• Numerous areas of exploitable land throughout the country. Availability in each province of areas intended for the construction of social housing
• Strong demand compared to supply
• The existence of a significant market share for new construction companies and investors in this sector

Energy

Energy is the engine of development because it drives economic, agricultural and industrial growth. To this end, the government's vision is to provide greater access to reliable electricity for all social classes and major national communities by increasing available capacity by 600 MW. 

The Congo River, whose basin lies on both sides of the equator, offers the DRC useful energy potential estimated at 100,000 MW, spread over 780 sites located in 145 territories and 76,000 villages. This potential represents approximately 37% of Africa's total potential and almost 6% of global potential.

DRC also has significant potential in the field of renewable energy sources such as biomass, wind, solar energy, biogas, biofuels, etc.

Of the total installed capacity in the DRC, estimated at 2516 MW, SNEL's production base is about 2416 MW, or 96% of the national installed capacity, consisting mainly of hydroelectric power plants. However, actual production is only 6000-7000 GWh. The remaining 100 MW of installed capacity, or 4%, goes to self-producers.

Despite the enormous resources that the country has, a significant part of the territory remains without electricity due to the obsolescence of installations from the colonial period, as well as the lack of new investors in this sector. The country's electrification level remains low — 9.6%, and the government plans to increase the service level to 32% in 2030.

Tourism

DRC offers a wide range of tourist attractions in different provinces, which have multifaceted features that can be used to develop several types of tourism (maritime, cultural, entertainment, discovery, business, safari, etc.).

• 25 million hectares, or 12% of the country's territory, are protected areas;
• 7 national parks and 57 nature reserves and hunting grounds, including 5 on the UNESCO World Heritage List
• 4 endemic species
• Diverse ecosystems covering almost 145 million hectares, the second largest rainforest in the world after the Amazon and one of the planet's biodiversity sanctuaries
• Natural sites ((Congo River, Atlantic coast (37 km), impressive waterfalls, lakes and their outlines, mountainous regions of the East); built (heritage monuments, religious buildings; and cultural (rich mixture of cultures and traditions around 450 ethnic groups), art markets, historical sites
• Reception infrastructure: 284 airport sites, including 5 international airports, 349 travel agencies, divided into three categories, including those affiliated with IATA; 3,235 unclassified and classified hotels; 4500 km of waterways
• Several support services for developing tourism activities, including transport, accommodation and food
• Thanks to its strategic location on the equator, in the heart of Africa, the DRC is at the crossroads of the tourist routes of Southern, Central and Eastern Africa.
• Various provincial routes allow for interprovincial and intraregional routes through 26 provinces from 9 border countries that make up the DRC
• Sharing common tourism products with border countries, as well as expanding destinations in regional regions — These are all opportunities to expand existing markets and create new tourism markets in the Great Lakes, SADC and COMESA regions, as well as ECCAS

Prospects for investment:

• Promotion and conservation of key animal species: restoration of national parks, creation of ecological niches, restoration of access roads
• Promotion of green tourism, environmental protection
• Development of reserves and natural sites. Creation of recreation areas, amusement parks
• Offer for tourist transport (air, road, river and lake)
• Creation of accommodation and infrastructure for receiving tourists and entertainment
• Creation of travel agencies and office services
• Support for tourism training and promotion (guide, website assembly, online travel agency, design and production of promotional materials)

Industry

Industry is one of the sectors targeted by PNSD to make the DRC a middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income country by 2050.

The government intends to support export industries (EE) and those that are able to guarantee import substitution (SI) with locally produced products.

DR Congo has several opportunities to develop its industrial sector, namely:

• Abundant and cheap labor
• Variety of raw materials (wood, oil, ores, quartz, etc.) conducive to the development of the national industrial structure
• Global domestic market of over 90 million potential consumers, with potential for sub-regional expansion
• Availability of 80 million hectares of arable land conducive to the development of agro-industry
• Existence of significant market share in various industries, etc.

Mining

The Democratic Republic of Congo is extremely rich in precious minerals, and the country has approximately US$24 trillion worth of untapped mineral reserves, including the world's largest cobalt reserves (51% of proven reserves) and significant quantities of diamonds, gold and copper.

All provinces of the country can claim ownership of mineral wealth.

Characteristics of Congolese ores:

• The Banalia deposits have a high iron content – more than 65% (low Si02 content)
• Ores (magnetites, hematites, mastites, goethites) of Katanga have varying iron contents from 54 to 66% and silica from 3 to 21% without many impurities
• Chrome and Nickel have an average content of 1.45% and 3.8% Cr. The lead vanadate deposit has an average ore content of 25-30% lead, 5-6% vanadium, etc.
• Bauxite is found in Sumbi and Sanzal with an Al content of 48%.
• The Fundu Nzobe phosphate resource in the Ba Fleuw area is estimated at 70 million gross tonnes with an average grade of 27% P2O5. At Kanzi, the same resources are estimated at 25 million tonnes with an average P2O5 grade of 17%. In Wangu they are estimated at 20 million tons at 22% P2O5

Agriculture

DR Congo offers several investment opportunities in the agricultural sector.

With its exceptional agronomic potential and agricultural land area unmatched in Africa, the DRC has the capacity to feed 2 billion people.

The country has more than 80 million arable lands, of which less than 10% is currently exploited. The climate diversity, supported by an important hydrographic network, allows for the cultivation of a variety of crops.

The expanses of meadows and savannas can support the breeding of more than 40 million heads of cattle. Tropical forests, covering 135 million hectares, or 52% of the territory, represent an important reserve of biodiversity and developable land.

Although the irrigation potential is estimated at 4 million hectares, this practice is currently still modest.

Infrastructure

Infrastructure is one of the priorities of the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Significant efforts are being made to restore and modernize the country's basic infrastructure in order to consolidate the country's economic integration.

The DRC has several assets in the infrastructure sector, including:

• National road network: 152,400 km, of which + 2% are paved
• Roads of general interest: 58,125 km, of which + 19.5% are in good condition
• Railway tracks: 5,033 km, of which + 95% need modernization or rehabilitation
• Sea, river and lake routes: 16,238 km subject to marking, dredging and most exploitation
• Runways: 500, including 101 open to public traffic and including 4 to international traffic (Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, Kisangani and Goma), most of which require rehabilitation and modernization