Regional business executives are planning a business trip to DR Congo early next month to engage their Congolese counterparts with a view to exploit business and investment opportunities in the vast country.

John Bosco Kalisa, CEO of the East African Business Council (EABC), noted this Saturday, April 16, a week after DR Congo President Félix Tshisekedi, on April 8, signed the Treaty of accession by his country to the East African Community (EAC). 

Kalisa told The New Times that his delegation also wants to bring their Congolese counterparts to speed about the opportunities provided by both the EAC Common Market and Custom Union frameworks. 

They plan to travel "in the first week of May” and are keen on seeing Congolese business leaders also reciprocate the visit.

"On our side we are very ready and keen to host them,” Kalisa said.

"Already we have established excellent engagements and contact with the Federation des Enterprises du Congo (FEC) . They are very ready to host us,” Kalisa said, explaining that besides DR Congo capital, Kinshasa, his delegation also plans to travel to the eastern Congolese cities of Goma and Bukavu.

On April 12, EAC Secretary General, Peter Mathuki, told a press conference that young people in the region should take advantage of the huge market – about 300 million people – created with the entry of the DR Congo into the now seven-member regional economic bloc. During the virtual press conference, Mathuki indicated that the Secretariat will, in the near future, organize business trips to DR Congo and that Kinshasa is also planning to send business expeditions to regional countries as part of the new anticipated business interactions. 

Among others, DR Congo offers its untapped vast arable land as a major investment opportunity. The DR Congo is expected to bolster the bloc’s economic potential through various ways including opening the corridor from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, as well as North to South, hence expanding the economic potential of the region. 

DR Congo is the world’s biggest producer of cobalt, a major component in the manufacture of rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, and Africa’s main copper producer. It is a major producer of gold, diamonds, uranium, coltan, oil and other precious metals, making it one of the most resource-rich countries in the world. 

Eleven percent of the goods the vast country consumes come from the six other partner states in the bloc, Mathuki said, while 35 per cent of what DR Congo consumes comes from China and other places.

Now that DR Congo is part of the EAC, Mathuki said, "We will be transforming or taking advantage of that consumption” so that whatever is produced in the region can find market in DR Congo.

The EABC delegation will comprise at least 10 people from each partner state, Kalisa said. Their areas of interest will include agribusiness, banking, mining, construction, manufacturing and the telecommunication sectors.

The EABC will also include tourism industry players in the trip. Kalisa said that on Tuesday, April 19, he will sign an agreement in Nairobi, Kenya, to organise tour operators.

Meanwhile, whether it is invited to partake in the Kinshasa trip or not, the Kigali-based East Africa Tourism Platform (EATP) also has plans of its own.

Yves Ngenzi, the EATP Coordinator, said: "On our side, we are working on some collaboration with DRC tourism sector in different areas and also having them join the EATP as full members through their national tourism apex body for the private sector.”

Earlier, Jeannette Rugero, a Rwandan tour guide and driver, told The New Times that she is now encouraged "more than before” to explore opportunities in DR Congo.

She said: "Congo is a very beautiful country with diverse tourist attractions; national parks, culture, landscape and so much more that people want to see. The insecurity in the east is just in one part but there are many others that are secure and this is where I want to start exploring and benefiting from. The Congolese will now feel more East African and more welcome, and vice versa,” she said.

Tshisekedi’s accession signature on April 8 immediately brought his country into the realms and provisions of all the protocols and regional policies of the EAC.

After signing the Treaty of accession, Kinshasa now has up to September 29 to undertake internal and constitutional processes to ratify the EAC Treaty and submit to the EAC Secretary General, and subsequently join all programmes and activities of the bloc.

Chances are high that Kinshasa which has shown a strong inclination to fast-track the process could actually wrap up its internal and constitutional processes to ratify the EAC Treaty, and submit, much earlier than September 29.