Doing Business in DR Congo

The objectives of the subject “International Trade and Business in the Democratic Republic of the Congo” are the following:

1. To analyze the Congolese Economy and Global Trade;
2. To know the business opportunities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo;
3. To explore the trade relations of the Democratic Republic of the Congo with the country of the student;
4. To know the Congolese Trade Agreements;
5. To examine the profile of Congolese businesspeople and companies;
6. To develop a business plan for the Congolese market.

The Subject “Foreign Trade and Business in the Democratic Republic of the Congo” belongs to the following Online Higher Educational Programs taught by EENI Global Business School:

Doctorate (DIB): African Business, World Trade.

Course: Business in Central Africa.

Masters (MIB): Business in Africa, Transport in Africa, International Business, Foreign Trade.

Learning materials in or République démocratique du Congo Congo Congo.

1. Credits of the subject “Foreign Trade and Business in the Democratic Republic of the Congo”: 3 ;
2. Duration: three weeks.

1. Nearest ports;
   1. Port of Luanda (Katanga) and Port of Lobito (Angola);
   2. Port of Maputo (Lubumbashi - Mozambique: 1,600 kilometers);
   3. Port of Mombasa (Kenya): Eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo;
   4. Port of Dar es-Salaam (Tanzania);
   5. Port of Walvis Bay (Namibia). Via the Trans-Caprivi Corridor - Southern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
2. Trans-African Corridors;
   1. Tripoli-Windhoek Corridor;
   2. Northern Corridor;
   3. North-South Corridor;
   4. Lagos-Mombasa Corridor;
   5. Central Corridor;
   6. Lobito Corridor;
   7. Beira-Lobito Corridor.

Preferential Trade Agreements of the Democratic Republic of the Congo:

1. The Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Economic Area;
2. Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS);
3. Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA);
4. Southern African Development Community (SADC)
   1. European Union-SADC Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
5. COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Agreement;
6. African Continental Free-Trade Area (AfCFTA);
7. Nile Basin Initiative (NBI);
8. International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR);
9. Economic Community of the Great Lakes Region (CEPGL);
10. European Union-Democratic Republic of the Congo
    1. Africa-European Union Strategic Partnership (Cotonou Agreement);
    2. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP).
11. United States-Democratic Republic of the Congo
    1. African Growth and Opportunity Act. (AGOA-United States);
    2. COMESA-United States Agreement.
12. Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA).

1. World Trade Organization (WTO)
   1. WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS);
   2. WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS);
   3. WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT);
   4. WTO Agreement on Preshipment Inspection (PSI);
   5. WTO Agreement on Safeguards (SG);
   6. WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA).
2. World Customs Organization (WCO)
   1. Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC).
3. Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea (Rotterdam Rules, UN);
4. Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea (Hamburg Rules, UN).

African Trade and Economic Organizations. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a member of:

1. Economic Commission for Africa (ECA);
2. African Union (AU)
   1. Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP);
   2. African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (not signed);
   3. African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD).
3. African Development Bank (AfDB);
4. Africa-South America Summit (ASA);
5. Forum on China-Africa Cooperation;
6. Africa-India Framework for Cooperation;
7. Africa-BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa);
8. Africa-Turkey Partnership;
9. Afro-Arab Cooperation;
10. Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA);
11. Africa-Asia Strategic Partnership (NAASP);
12. Africa-Korea Partnership;
13. Africa-Japan Cooperation (TICAD).

Global Organizations:

1. United Nations (UN)
   1. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD);
   2. International Trade Centre (INTRACEN);
   3. World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
2. World Bank (WB);
3. World Trade Organization (WTO);
4. International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly known as Zaire) is the third most populated nation in Sub-Saharan Africa (72 million people), and the second regarding the area.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is gifted with abundant human and natural resources, including a tropical forest; is the second in the World by area, fertile soil, abundant rainfall and significant and varied mineral resources.

1. Congolese population: 78 million inhabitants.
   1. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the fourth most populous nation in sub-Saharan Africa;
   2. 99 million in 2025;
   3. Median age: 17.4 years old;
   4. Bantu.
2. Largest cities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, Mbuji-Mayi, Kananga, Kisangani, Bukavu, and Goma;
3. ,Currency of the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Congolese Franc (CDF);
4. Languages in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: French (official), Lingala, Kingwana, Kikongo, Swahili, and Tshiluba;
5. Borders of the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Angola, Congo, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, and Zambia;
6. Lar;
7. 6% of the World tropical reserves;
8. 106 million Mw of power energy;
9. Area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo: 2,345,410 square kilometers.
   1. The second-largest African country (four times the size of France).
10. Unitary Republic. Constitution (2005);
11. Independence of the Democratic Republic of the Congo: 1960 (Belgium).

More information: The Democratic Republic of the Congo (EENI African Business Portal).

Religions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

1. African Traditional Religions;
2. Christianity
   1. Catholicism (36 million);
   2. Protestants (12 million, 20% of the population; Baptists: 1.9 million).

The Democratic Republic of the Congo belongs to the Central African Economic Area (African Civilization).

Economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

1. The economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Africa) began to recuperate;
2. The main contributors to the total growth were mining (12%), construction (10%) and wholesale and retail trade (6%);
3. The World Bank projects the economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is set to increase to 7% annually for the next biennium. (Source: African Development Bank);
4. Mining (copper, cobalt, diamonds, gold, zinc and other metals) and petrol represent 75% of total export revenues of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and 25% of its gross domestic product;
5. Mineral resources of the Democratic Republic of the Congo: cobalt, gold, diamond, iron ore, bauxite, coltan, limestone, nickel-chromium;
6. The International position of the Democratic Republic of the Congo advanced thanks to the good oil price levels, improved productivity from some reserves, and recuperation of the timber exports .

(c) EENI Global Business School (1995-2023)
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