Over the past year, Vodacom RDC, the Congolese subsidiary of South Africa’s Vodacom Group, had 6.4 million active mobile money or M-Pesa users. According to official documents reviewed by Bankable, the figure is 28.4% more than in 2023 when the number of M-Pesa users stood at 5.88 million. Active users regroup users who utilized the service at least once during the previous month.

The surge in M-Pesa active users highlights the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as a strategic market for the service outside Kenya. It also contributed significantly to Vodacom’s financial performance. Preliminary results for Vodacom’s financial year (April 2024 to March 2025) indicate that M-Pesa transactions in the DRC generated R2.67 billion—approximately $145.8 million at an average exchange rate of 17.8 rand per dollar. These figures await confirmation through audited data.

Vodacom dominates the DRC’s mobile financial services market, holding over 53% market share with 13.1 million subscribers (including inactive accounts) as of mid-2024, according to data from the telecommunications regulator. 

During this period, M-Pesa recorded $85 million in revenue, making it the most profitable service in the sector, outpacing competitors like Orange Money, Airtel Money, and Afrimoney, which collectively generated $89.2 million.

Despite its dominance, Vodacom faces intensifying competition. In Q2 2024, M-Pesa’s revenue declined by 4.19% compared to Q1, while rivals gained ground. Airtel Money posted $31.9 million in revenue a 6.5% increase while Orange Money grew by 12.3%.

The DRC’s mobile financial services market remains underpenetrated with a usage rate of just 25.7%, offering significant growth potential for all players.

This article was initially published in French by Georges Auréoles Bamba

Edited in English by Ola Schad Akinocho

The majority shareholders of the Kamoa-Kakula copper complex have committed $200 million to modernize and stabilize the power grid in the southern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). According to official documents reviewed by Bankable, the modernization project began in late 2024. 

The project focuses on boosting the transmission capacity between the Inga II hydroelectric power station and Kolwezi, Lualaba province’s mining hub. Key upgrades include installing a harmonic filter at the Inga converter station and a static compensator at Kolwezi’s substation. 

Additional measures involve replacing aging power cables, repairing direct current (DC) infrastructure, and establishing maintenance contracts with SNEL (Société Nationale d’Électricité), the DRC’s state-owned electricity operator. These efforts are being spearheaded by Ivanhoe Mines Energy DRC, under the financing of Kamoa Holding a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin Mining.

Stable power is a critical performance factor for mining operations, particularly for Kamoa-Kakula, which is ramping up its Phase 3 operations. The project plans to commission a third smelter powered primarily by renewable energy, reducing production costs while increasing refined copper output. 

178 MW more incoming

However, these benefits depend on the commissioning of Inga II’s fifth turbine, which was installed in 2024 and is expected to add 178 MW of hydropower capacity. Starting in mid-2025, Kamoa-Kakula will receive an initial 70 MW of this capacity, gradually increasing to 178 MW by 2026. Until then, the mine will continue relying on imported electricity and diesel generators.

Kamoa-Kakula is not alone in addressing DRC’s energy challenges. Chinese mining giant CMOC, which operates the Tenke Fungurume and Kinsfu Mining projects, announced plans in 2024 to generate at least 600 MW of solar power to support its operations.

This article was initially published in French by Georges Auréoles Bamba

Edited by Ola Schad Akinocho

Il est désormais interdit de vendre moins de 300 mètres carrés de terrain dans les agglomérations urbaines de la République Démocratique du Congo (RDC). Un arrêté signé le 20 février 2025 par la ministre des Affaires foncières fixe cette superficie comme seuil minimal pour toute parcelle issue d’un morcellement ou d’un lotissement. Cette mesure implique que l’acquisition d’un terrain coûtera désormais plus cher.

À Kinshasa, par exemple, dans les quartiers comme l’UPN ou Pigeon, le prix du mètre carré varie entre 250 et 500 dollars, selon l’emplacement, indiquent plusieurs habitants. Dans ces conditions, il faudra prévoir au minimum 75 000 dollars pour acheter un terrain dans ces quartiers qui ne sont pourtant pas parmi les plus huppés de la capitale. Un montant largement hors de portée pour la majorité des Congolais. En 2024, environ 73,5 % de la population vivait avec moins de 2,15 dollars par jour, selon la Banque mondiale.

Par ailleurs, les morcellements opérés par des particuliers dans les agglomérations urbaines sont désormais interdits. Toute division de terrain devra être soumise à l’approbation de l’autorité compétente. Il s’agisse des commissaires d’État, des commissaires de région ou des conservateurs des titres immobiliers territorialement compétents. Cette mesure est perçue comme une contrainte supplémentaire à l’accès à la propriété foncière, un enjeu que la Société financière internationale (IFC) identifie comme l’un des principaux freins à la construction de logements en RDC, où le déficit en la matière est estimé à 4 millions d’unités.

Le ministère des Affaires foncières justifie cette décision par la prolifération des morcellements anarchiques, une pratique courante dans des villes comme Kinshasa. Cette situation a conduit à une densification excessive, aggravant des problèmes tels que le surpeuplement, les difficultés d’accès aux services de base (eau, électricité), la mauvaise gestion des déchets et des eaux de ruissellement, ainsi que des conflits récurrents entre voisins liés aux limites parcellaires. Selon l’arrêté, cette urbanisation désordonnée nuit également à l’esthétique des villes et à la qualité de vie des habitants.

Le ministère espère que l’interdiction des morcellements anarchiques et la fixation d’une superficie minimale contribueront à une meilleure gestion de l’espace urbain, à l’amélioration des conditions de vie et à une planification plus efficace des services publics. Toutefois, l’impact de ces mesures dépendra de leur mise en œuvre rigoureuse et de la capacité des autorités à en assurer le respect.

Timothée Manoke, stagiaire

Lire aussi :

Malick Fall (IFC) : « Nous travaillons à réduire le déficit de logements en RDC »

Logement : la RDC a besoin d’un investissement de 132 milliards $ pour combler son déficit

Pan-African banking group Ecobank Group and China’s top B2B cross-border trade payment platform XTransfer have signed a landmark memorandum of understanding to revolutionize cross-border payments between Africa and China, targeting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) engaged in foreign trade. Ecobank announced the deal on February 6, 2025. 

The collaboration comes at a time when trade between China and Africa reached a record $282 billion in 2023, with $18.75 billion attributed to flows between China and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This positions the DRC as China’s fourth-largest trading partner in Africa, making it a key market for Ecobank, which has a strong local presence.

Through the memorandum, Ecobank and Xtransfer aim to tackle the persistent challenges of international transactions, such as high costs, currency exchange risks, lengthy remittance times, and regulatory hurdles.

In the DRC, banks currently charge transfer fees ranging from 0.75% to 1% of the amount transferred, with a minimum of 45 to 50 USD. Processing times can range from three days to a week or more, and some transactions are subject to restrictions that further slow down the process. Another major issue is the constant depreciation of the Congolese franc. In 2024, according to the Central Bank of Congo (BCC), the local currency depreciated by 0.12% on the official market and 0.39% on the parallel market against the US dollar.

Better fees

“XTransfer will leverage Ecobank’s extensive network across Africa, enabling its Chinese clients to collect funds in local African currencies while assisting African SMEs in making payments in their local currencies to negate foreign exchange issues,” Ecobank indicates on its website. “By integrating XTransfer's cutting-edge solutions with our pan-African payment platform, we simplify payments, reduce transaction costs, and enable African businesses to thrive in global trade,” said Ecobank’s CEO, Jeremy Awori.

XTransfer’s competitive pricing model also stands out. Payments to supplier accounts in China are capped at 0.4%, while transfers between two XTransfer accounts are free and instantaneous. It remains to be seen how this pricing will evolve under the partnership with Ecobank.

“Leveraging Ecobank’s extensive payment network in Africa will accelerate our business expansion in the region,” commented Xtransfer CEO and Founder, Bill Deng.

For Ecobank, this partnership aligns with its broader strategy to drive financial integration across Africa while boosting its net banking income. In 2023, the bank ranked sixth in the DRC with $61 million in net banking income, far behind market leader Rawbank at $461 million. 

While the collaboration with XTransfer should help Ecobank be more competitive, the two partners must overcome various hurdles, including banking regulations, especially in the DRC. In its latest report on banking in the DRC, issued in December 2024, Deloitte revealed that the Central Bank of Congo (BCC) has been tightening the sector, introducing stricter rules to enhance transparency and combat money laundering.

This article was initially published in French by Timothée Manoke (intern)

Edited in English by Ola Schad Akinocho

Cobalt exports from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have been suspended for four months. The ARECOMS, the country’s watchdog for strategic minerals markets, announced the decision on February 22. Suggested last December by Senator Michel Kanyimbu, the move aims to reduce oversupply and stabilize prices which have plunged to $20,000 per tonne from a high of $81,000 in 2022. The drop in prices was mainly driven by Chinese mining giant CMOC’s output of 114,000 tonnes in 2024.

“If we reduce our cobalt oxide exports to 80,000 tonnes per year, we will triple its market price,” Kanyimbu argued during a December 3 plenary session on the 2025 finance bill. While understandable, the suspension does not guarantee achieving Kanyimbu’s proposed target of capping annual cobalt oxide exports at 80,000 tonnes. In 2023, the DRC exported 152,798 tonnes—nearly double the suggested threshold. 

In his December speech, the Senator backed his claim noting that “in 2022, global cobalt supply hovered around 115,000 tonnes, and prices stood at $81,000 per tonne. However, we kept increasing our production, and this directly impacted prices. It is time for the government to limit exports.”  Kanyimbu affirmed that curbing exports is strategic since the DRC controls 70% of the global cobalt market. 

The senator expects the move could generate nearly $1 billion annually for the DRC through mining royalties and profit taxes. “With a bold government decision, we could recover $900 million to $1 billion in one year,” he said in December.

Kanyimbu’s ambitions extend beyond fiscal gains. Representing Lualaba province, one of the world’s richest cobalt regions, Kanyimbu envisions using these revenues to fund critical infrastructure projects such as rehabilitating the Dilolo-Kolwezi road and Kolwezi-Solwezi corridor. “This is why I insist on finding these additional revenues,” he stated.

The recent suspension aligns with earlier discussions by President Félix Tshisekedi, who had floated the idea of export quotas during a Council of Ministers meeting last year. Whether Kanyimbu’s advocacy influenced this decision remains unclear.

This article was initially published by Ronsard Luabeya (intern)

Edited in English by Ola Schad Akinocho

The price of cobalt oxide on the Shanghai Metals Exchange rose to €16,640 per tonne (excluding tax) on February 28, 2025, up 1.46% over five days. The dynamic, reviewed by Bankable, was also observed on the London Metal Exchange, where April 2026 cobalt oxide contracts climbed 5%, trading at $22,246.19 per tonne, up from the current $21,153. 

This surge follows the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) announcement on February 22 of a four-month suspension of cobalt exports, a move aimed at addressing oversupply and stabilizing prices.

The DRC, which supplies 75% of the world’s cobalt oxide, has triggered market uncertainty with this decision, as buyers anticipate tighter supply amid growing demand. Analysts at the Shanghai Metals Exchange attribute the price acceleration to reactions from cobalt processing industries, which temporarily halted refined cobalt bids to assess raw ore availability. S&P Global had already forecasted a reduction in surplus cobalt stocks for 2025, but the Congolese export suspension has amplified this upward price correction.

No Supply Deficit before 2030?

The recent suspension is part of broader efforts by the Congolese Regulator of Strategic Minerals Markets, ARECOMS, to influence global supply-demand dynamics. The watchdog plans to assess the measure’s impact in three months to determine whether to maintain, adjust, or lift it. Meanwhile, observers anticipate the reaction of major producers like China’s CMOC, whose investments in the Kisanfu mine have contributed significantly to the global oversupply of copper.

The DRC earns a lot from selling its minerals and taxes and royalties from its mining assets. Therefore, higher cobalt prices are critical for meeting the country’s budgetary revenue targets and financing development ambitions. 

However, at the end of 2024, some observers had projected that it would take some time for prices to rise sustainably. They said there should be no supply deficit before 2030. Last December, Joel Crane of S&P Global, predicted that while electric vehicle demand will drive an 11% annual increase in cobalt consumption through 2030, supply growth will lag at just 4% annually due to limited new exploration projects in the DRC. “Although the DRC has added 60,000 tonnes of cobalt since 2022, its contribution is expected to gradually decline,” Crane noted. Nick Burroughs, Sales Director at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, shares this view. 

EGC Steps Up

While the impact of the recent forecasts on prices in the market for direct cobalt purchases, especially artisanal mining, this sector could face supply chain-related challenges. Artisanal mining contributes 15-30% of the DRC’s cobalt production. 

According to several media outlets, the ARECOMS has recently clarified that even after the export suspension is lifted, artisanal cobalt can only be sold to Entreprise Générale de Cobalt (EGC), a state-owned subsidiary of Gécamines. With this in mind, EGC’s managing director Éric Kalala, quoted by Bloomberg, said the firm plans to purchase artisanal cobalt during the suspension to support miners and strengthen EGC’s role as an exclusive buyer. At the same time, the state-owned entity is committed to fostering a fairer supply chain while boosting its revenues. However, questions remain about whether EGC has the resources and capacity to manage these operations effectively in a market that demands immediacy. Indeed, artisanal miners often want to quickly sell and regularly request advances to finance their activities.

This article was initially published in French by Georges Auréole Bamba

Edited in English by Ola Schad Akinocho

En reconnaissance de son rôle dans la transformation de l’agro-industrie en République Démocratique du Congo (RDC) et en Afrique, Monique Gieskes a été honorée lors de la 14 ᵉ édition des Prix des personnalités de l’année d’African Leadership Magazine, le 22 février 2025 à Casablanca, au Maroc. La directrice générale des Plantations et Huileries du Congo (PHC) a reçu le prix « Special African Business Leadership Commendation Award », récompensant son engagement en faveur de l’agriculture durable, du développement des économies locales et du renforcement des systèmes de production alimentaire sur le continent.

« Grâce à son engagement en faveur de l’innovation, de la durabilité et de l’autonomisation économique, son leadership a contribué à la transformation de l’agro-industrie en RDC et au-delà, garantissant ainsi une croissance à long terme dans l’un des secteurs les plus stratégiques du continent », souligne African Leadership Magazine.

Après le rachat des parts majoritaires (environ 76 %) de PHC par le fonds d’investissement Kuramo Capital Management, Monique Gieskes a été nommée au poste de directrice générale de l’entreprise en février 2021. Depuis sa nomination, elle revendique une progression significative des performances de l’entreprise.

« Nous avons surpassé nos performances en augmentant notre production de plus de 30 % pour atteindre une production de plus de 80 000 tonnes d’huile de haute qualité en 2023. Si nous comparons ces résultats, nous nous rendrons compte que depuis 2020, nous avons augmenté notre production de 77 % en trois ans. Sur cette trajectoire, nous nous étions fixé l’objectif d’atteindre une production de 100 000 tonnes d’huile d’ici 2026. Et je suis fort convaincue aujourd’hui que nous les atteindrons bien avant sans difficulté », déclarait-elle le 10 février 2024, lors des PHC Awards, selon des propos rapportés par la presse.

Outre l’augmentation de la production, PHC affirme avoir renforcé ses effectifs, passant de 6 500 à près de 10 000 employés entre 2021 et 2024. La direction met en avant une amélioration des conditions salariales et la fourniture d’équipements de protection individuelle pour ses travailleurs.

Parcours

L’entreprise revendique également un rôle actif dans le développement des communautés locales. PHC soutient 91 organisations de producteurs agricoles, notamment par la distribution de semences de qualité et d’outils aratoires. Elle a lancé le programme « Plantations partenaires », un dispositif permettant aux membres des communautés possédant des plantations de vendre leur production à PHC à des prix prédéterminés d’un commun accord.

Monique Gieskes affiche un parcours qui illustre son expertise et son leadership dans plusieurs domaines. Avant d’être nommée directrice générale de Plantations et Huileries du Congo (PHC), elle a dirigé Vlisco RDC et a exercé en tant qu’avocate spécialisée en droit des marques. Elle siégeait également au conseil d’administration de PHC avant son rachat par Kuramo Capital.

Diplômée de l’Université de Fort Lauderdale en Floride (États-Unis), elle est également titulaire d’un MBA de la Frankfurt School of Finance and Management. Tout au long de sa carrière, elle a occupé des rôles stratégiques au sein d’organisations européennes et internationales de premier plan, telles que l’European Brand Association, le Comité Colbert, le Forum des Nations Unies, l’Organisation mondiale des douanes (OMD) et l’Organisation africaine de la propriété intellectuelle (OAPI). Son travail a notamment contribué à la réduction des tarifs douaniers, la défense des droits de propriété intellectuelle et la lutte contre la concurrence déloyale sur certains marchés.

Basé au Royaume-Uni, African Leadership Magazine est une publication éditée par ALG Strategy Group Limited. Lancé en août 2008, il revendique aujourd’hui une distribution auprès de plus de 580 000 lecteurs, incluant des investisseurs internationaux, des dirigeants d’entreprises, des décideurs politiques et des agences multilatérales à travers l’Afrique, le Moyen-Orient, l’Asie, l’Europe et les États-Unis. Son objectif : mettre en avant les initiatives africaines et proposer des solutions aux défis du continent.

Timothée Manoke, stagiaire

Malick Fall has represented the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and the Republic of Congo since 2022. The Senegalese is also the Corporation’s resident representative in the DRC since 2021. On the sidelines of IFC Day Congo, on January 14, Bankable interviewed Fall who discussed the institution’s projects in Congo and the DRC, and their financing issues. 

Bankable: Over the past year and a half, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has strengthened its presence in Congo-Brazzaville by opening a dedicated office there. However, its current portfolio in the country only includes an investment of around $10 million. What are your goals relating to financing this country?

Malick Fall: As you said, last year, we invested $10 million, but we have also been preparing many projects in sectors that are key for the Congo.

At IFC Day, we highlighted our actions in the energy sector, intending to reduce the energy deficit and support the development of the electricity sector. A public-private partnership (PPP) project is also in the pipeline in the water sector, and it should improve supply and distribution nationwide.

With the World Bank, the IFC is also collaborating on a new program to attract more private investment in agriculture. It aims to boost local production and reduce reliance on imports.

We also work with banks and digital companies to develop new services that foster SMEs’ financial inclusion.

Bankable: With these projects, how much could the IFC inject into the Congolese private sector? And over what timeframe?

MF: It's difficult to give an amount at this stage, as many of these projects are being prepared. Infrastructure projects, as you know, require a fairly high level of preparation.

At the IFC, we have an approach called Upstream, which enables us to prepare projects for financing. The IFC works within this framework in Congo to identify opportunities, structure, and finance them, while mobilizing funds from other financial partners to meet the country's needs.

Thanks to all these initiatives, we hope to quickly and significantly increase our investment portfolio in Congo. But at the moment, it's too early to give a precise figure for the projects in the pipeline.

Bankable: As a regional representative, do you have any financing ambition for the Congo?

MF: The IFC's role is to finance, but we measure our goals based on their impact. Today, we're not interested in financing per se. Financing is a means to an end.What matters to us is how many people will have access to energy, how many will benefit from the products of our agricultural projects, or how many SMEs will have access to financing thanks to the initiatives and services we develop with our partners.

We are a development institution, and our priority is impact. Financing, on the other hand, is merely a lever for achieving these objectives.

Bankable: So do you have quantifiable objectives? How many people do you want to connect to electricity, for example? What are your goals in the area of agricultural production?

MF: We draw a country strategy to guide our actions in every country we support. This strategy is based on the government's priorities. In the Congo, for example, our strategy is based on the National Development Plan and the partnership framework established with the World Bank. This information has enabled us to define key areas where the IFC should be positioned.

In Congo, we have four strategic axes. The first is financial inclusion. SMEs are the main contributors to job creation. By meeting their financing needs, we also contribute to job creation.

The second priority is the development of basic infrastructures, notably energy, water, and telecoms. Energy, for example, is essential to the country’s industrialization. No energy, no industry. And no industry means job creation targets can be compromised.

While we don't yet have any players in these markets, our work also involves identifying potential partners in our customer network, and we encourage them to invest in the Congo.

Our third goal is to develop a real industry. By real industry, we mean everything related to industry and agriculture. The Congo has immense agricultural potential, with vast arable lands that must be exploited to meet the needs of the country and the sub-region. The Congo borders large countries such as the DRC and Cameroon, potentially important markets.

Next, we identify potential partners that can help us achieve these goals. However, if the conditions are not in place, we take the necessary steps to create them.

If reforms are needed, we develop them with the World Bank, other partners, and the government. While we don't yet have any players in these markets, our work also involves identifying potential partners in our customer network, and we encourage them to invest in the Congo.

Bankable: Earlier, you mentioned one of Congo-Brazzaville's big neighbors: the DRC. You are also IFC's country representative in that big country (over 2 million km², more than 100 million inhabitants), which faces major challenges in transport, housing, and energy... What are your priorities for the DRC?

MF: In the DRC, since 2021 we have accelerated our activities with investments in the financial sector, providing funds to banks so they can lend more to SMEs.

We have also invested heavily in telecoms infrastructure. There was a huge backlog of investment in this sector, which now accounts for a significant proportion of our commitments in the DRC in recent years.

We are working on all these fronts to create the right conditions for property developers to set up in the country so that they can carry out large-scale projects and help reduce the housing deficit, estimated at around 4 million units according to a study we carried out.

Of course, we are also present in the energy sector. The country has a very low rate of access to electricity, around 19% or 20%, and our ambition is to provide solutions, some of them innovative, to reduce this energy deficit.

In this respect, we are currently working on some projects in the energy sector, which, I hope, will help us rapidly boost this low electrification rate.

Bankable: In 2024, you estimated that an investment of $132 billion was needed over the next 16 years to reduce the housing deficit in the DRC. You mentioned having a project in this sector. How far along are you?

MF: Housing is a major issue in the DRC. To give you an idea, the population of a city like Kinshasa is set to double over the next 30 years. It currently houses 15 to 20 million people, depending on the source, and soon it will be one of Africa's largest megalopolises.

However, not enough housing is being built each year to meet this demand, particularly in the middle-class segment. In this context, we have identified an opportunity to massively increase investment in this sector and are working on the reforms needed to attract this investment.

Several challenges need to be overcome: land tenure issues, difficulties in establishing title deeds, as well as a still insufficient mortgage market. We are working on all these fronts to create the right conditions for real estate developers to set up in the country, launch large-scale projects, and help reduce the housing deficit, which is estimated at around 4 million units according to a study we carried out.

It's a long-term project, but the stakes are high since our goal is to provide decent but affordable housing to every Congolese citizen.

Bankable: For many, securing long-term loans is a hassle in the DRC. Do you have any specific actions to enable banks to grant long-term credit?

MF: The IFC can make long-term resources available to local banks, especially to develop the mortgage market. When a Congolese person wants to buy a house, if he or she is offered a 10-year loan, this allows him or her to qualify for certain housing.

However, providing long-term credit is not enough to solve the problem. We also need to create the conditions necessary to produce quality housing. These two actions must be implemented simultaneously.

Since 2021, we have invested just over $550 million, cumulatively, in the DRC, in the various sectors I mentioned earlier. However, the IFC does not just invest in the DRC.

We cannot solve the supply problem without considering demand, and conversely, if we solve the demand aspect without addressing supply, the market will remain unbalanced.

So we're working on both fronts. On the one hand, we can make long-term credit available, thus allowing many more Congolese to access housing. Besides this, however, we need to attract solid real estate developers with the experience and capacity to build housing en masse in the DRC.

Bankable: What is the current size of the IFC's portfolio in that country?

MF: Since 2021, we have invested just over $550 million, cumulatively, in the DRC, in the various sectors I mentioned earlier. However, the IFC does not just invest in the DRC. We also provide advisory support to help the country tackle several challenges.

For example, we are working closely with the Central Bank to improve the financial infrastructure. One of our current projects is to set up a credit bureau that provides banks with better information on borrowers, enabling them to lend more safely. Ultimately, this could increase the rate of credit to the private sector.

We have also worked with the Ministry of Finance to revise the leasing law, to make it more attractive and give banks a tool widely used in other countries, particularly by SMEs.

Interview by Aboudi Ottou