News (946)
Kamoa Copper has begun signing contracts for the second phase of its solar power program for the Kamoa-Kakula copper complex in Lualaba province, including a new 30 MW power purchase agreement with Green World Energie signed in late April 2026.
The second phase is expected to raise the site’s total solar generation capacity to 120 MW by 2027, in line with plans announced in July 2025.
The first 60 MW phase remains on schedule and is expected to be commissioned at the start of the third quarter of 2026. It is being developed by CrossBoundary Energy and Green World Energie, which are financing, owning and operating the facilities. Kamoa Copper will be the sole offtaker of the electricity produced.
CrossBoundary Energy is not expected to participate in the second phase, according to sources familiar with the matter. A separate 30 MW agreement is expected to be signed with another energy company before the end of May.
Kamoa Copper said the solar expansion is intended to strengthen energy security at the mining complex while supporting its carbon reduction targets. The company said the agreements are part of its strategy to deploy low-emission energy technologies to meet growing electricity demand.
The expansion comes as power demand at the mining complex rises sharply. Ivanhoe Mines, a shareholder in Kamoa Copper and operator of the complex, projects electricity demand at the site will rise to 347 MW by December 2028 from 208 MW at the end of 2025. Under Ivanhoe’s energy plan, all of that demand is expected to be supplied by renewable energy sources.
Boaz Kabeya
The Democratic Republic of Congo's financial sector is not adequately prepared for a new generation of AI-enabled cyberattacks, the governor of the Central Bank of the Congo (BCC) acknowledged on May 8 in Dakar, Senegal.
André Wameso made the remarks during a cybersecurity panel at an international conference on crypto assets and digital innovation organized by the Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (BCEAO).
"I want to tell you frankly that I am afraid. I am afraid of what could happen," Wameso said during remarks broadcast on the BCEAO's official YouTube channel. He noted that the position of chief information security officer did not exist at the BCC before he took office in August 2025, and that he had introduced it as a foundational governance measure.
His remarks followed a presentation by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) at the same conference. According to the firm, the average cost of a sophisticated cyberattack has fallen from roughly $1 million in 2000 to less than $1 today, while global banks now spend nearly $45 billion annually on digital protection.
Structural weaknesses
According to BCG's cyber maturity assessment, African banks score an average of 2 out of 5, compared with a global average of 3.4. The firm also estimates that between 25% and 50% of core banking systems used across the continent are obsolete, versus 10% to 15% in the rest of the world.
BCG's 2024 BCAT assessment identified another vulnerability: fewer than 10% of the interfaces African banks use to connect their services to fintechs or other partners have advanced security protections, compared with more than 80% elsewhere. Outdated and poorly protected systems can provide easy entry points for cyberattacks now capable of automatically identifying vulnerabilities using artificial intelligence.
The BCC has nonetheless accelerated the digitalization of payments in the DRC in recent years, implementing the Digital Code and developing a national interoperability switch. The system is designed to connect payment providers while preserving a degree of monetary sovereignty and encouraging the adoption of digital payment methods. The BCC has, for instance, announced a ban on cash transactions in foreign currencies, effective April 9, 2027.
Bitcoin exposure
Wameso acknowledged that three million people in the DRC are already investing in bitcoin through digital wallets provided by telecom operators, despite the absence of a regulatory framework governing the activity. He also linked the cyber risk to the country's demographic profile — the median age is 17 — and called for major investment in digital literacy extending beyond banks and fintechs.
Other panelists expressed similar concerns. Kealeboga Masalila, deputy governor of the Bank of Botswana, said cybersecurity needed to be more clearly integrated into banking supervision and extended to technical service providers, mobile operators and fintechs, whose growing role could create systemic risk.
The threat described by Wameso is no longer theoretical. With attack costs now negligible, global cybersecurity spending running into the tens of billions of dollars, and three million Congolese already active in a largely unsupervised crypto environment, the mismatch between cyber risk exposure and institutional preparedness has become one of the most immediate financial stability challenges facing the continent.
Idriss Linge, with Ecofin Agency
The Democratic Republic of Congo is shifting from a sector-specific response to a broader inter-ministerial strategy to protect its cocoa industry, which has been hit by falling international prices, weak local processing capacity, logistical bottlenecks and smuggling.
At the May 8, 2026 cabinet meeting, Trade Minister Julien Paluku Kahongya presented a report on the decline in cocoa prices and measures aimed at protecting local producers. The cabinet approved the plan after discussion.
According to the meeting summary, the government is favoring a market-driven strategy rather than direct price controls. The approach is built around three priorities: diversifying export markets, improving compliance with international quality standards and expanding production capacity.
The plan follows a sharp decline in cocoa prices. Data from the National Commission on Market Prices cited during the meeting showed cocoa trading at $3.09 per kilogram during the week of April 6-11, 2026, down from $5.85 in December 2025 and nearly $11 in December 2024 on international markets.
Officials attributed the decline to a global supply surplus during the 2025-2026 season, changing demand patterns in the European chocolate industry and weak coordination between Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, the world's two leading cocoa producers.
Beyond the Price Slump
For Kinshasa, the current crisis has also highlighted structural weaknesses in the Congolese cocoa sector. The cabinet summary pointed to fragmented supply chains, limited processing capacity, quality deficiencies and severe logistical constraints affecting producers.
The measures under consideration therefore extend beyond short-term support. They include tax incentives for exporters using official trade channels and repatriating export revenues to the DRC, continued distribution of improved seeds and fermentation equipment, and the construction of warehouses and storage facilities.
The government also plans to organize smallholder farmers into cooperatives to strengthen their bargaining power and reduce dependence on intermediaries.
The industrial component of the plan includes the creation of a credit line through the Industrial Promotion Fund to pre-finance cocoa purchasing campaigns and kick-start local processing operations. Kinshasa also intends to accelerate the rollout of special economic zones in Musienene, in North Kivu province, and Gwaka, in South Ubangi, while preparing additional industrial hubs in Ituri and Haut-Uele.
The strategy also includes a security component. Authorities plan to establish a joint Police-Customs-Army unit to monitor informal smuggling routes, reflecting efforts to tighten oversight of exports and reduce foreign exchange leakage.
The government is also planning the urgent rehabilitation of road corridors linking production areas to ports, border crossings and major commercial hubs, alongside training programs aimed at helping producers meet international standards.
Through this strategy, Kinshasa is seeking to address the cocoa crisis through a more integrated approach combining tax policy, quality improvement, logistics, security and local processing.
The government aims not only to shield producers from market volatility, but also to strengthen oversight of a sector expected to play a growing role in diversifying Congolese exports. The DRC is targeting annual cocoa production of three million tonnes by 2030, up from around 100,000 tonnes in 2024, according to the Ministry of Foreign Trade.
Ronsard Luabeya
DR Congo's state diamond miner Société minière de Bakwanga (MIBA) has awarded a contract for industrial equipment to South Africa's Bond Equipment (PTY) LTD as part of its revival plan, according to a notice dated May 6, 2026.
MIBA awarded the contract to Bond Equipment in a deal worth $57.45 million, inclusive of taxes, according to the notice signed by Director General André Kabanda Kana. The contract is divided into five lots, while transport costs amount to an additional $2.3 million. The notice does not specify the technical details of the equipment involved.
The contract award remains provisional under public procurement rules. It follows the opening of bids on March 3, 2026, a review of the offer evaluation report on March 13, 2026, and a no-objection notice issued by the Directorate General for Public Procurement Control (DGCMP) on March 27, 2026.
Financing context
The contract award comes as MIBA pursues a broader turnaround effort. Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi had previously announced $50 million in support for the company, which authorities said was being disbursed. The award notice does not indicate whether those funds have already been released or whether they are directly financing this contract.
MIBA's revival is part of an initial recovery plan estimated at around $70 million, aimed at increasing production capacity, securing concessions and restarting operations at the state miner in Mbuji-Mayi.
Bond Equipment was among the South African companies previously cited in discussions surrounding MIBA's recovery. The company also has prior experience in the Congolese mining sector. Ivanhoe Mines had previously indicated that Bond Equipment manufactured the dense medium separation unit intended for the concentrator at the Kipushi zinc mine.
The coming weeks should clarify whether the award will be finalised, when the contract will be signed, the timetable for equipment deliveries and the precise financing arrangements for the deal.
Timothée Manoke
The governor of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s central bank said 85% of the $10 billion in U.S. dollar cash imported into the country in 2025 never entered the banking system.
Of the $10 billion in dollar banknotes brought into the country that year, only about $1.5 billion was reflected in bank deposits, central bank governor André Wamesso said at an April 28 press conference.
“The Banque Centrale du Congo conducted a study. In 2025, we imported $10 billion in U.S. dollar banknotes, but deposits increased by only around $1.5 billion,” Wamesso said. “Where did the remaining $8.5 billion go?”
The question was largely rhetorical. In an interview broadcast on April 18 by Top Congo, Wamesso had already said that part of the imported cash was being used by money-laundering networks and terrorist financiers. The former economic adviser to President Felix Tshisekedi said armed groups operating in eastern Congo paid fighters in dollars despite having no formal means of obtaining them.
In response, the BCC’s Monetary Policy Committee decided at its April 9 meeting to grant the central bank sole authority to import foreign-currency banknotes and to ban foreign-currency cash transactions from April 9, 2027.
U.S. sanctions
At the April 28 press conference, Wamesso also warned that the uncontrolled circulation of dollar cash posed risks to the Congolese financial system.
With several rebel leaders already under U.S. sanctions, he said the DRC could face accusations that U.S. currency was circulating for the benefit of sanctioned individuals. That, he warned, could lead to restrictions on access to the U.S. dollar financial system, a risk heightened by the country’s placement on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list in 2022, which has strained ties between Congolese banks and correspondent banks abroad.
“These measures are also intended to help the country comply with U.S. sanctions,” Wamesso said, adding that the U.S. government “fully supports” the BCC’s decisions.
Washington has increasingly used sanctions as a tool to secure access to critical minerals in eastern DRC.
“The Treasury Department will not hesitate to take action against groups that deny the United States and our allies access to the critical minerals vital for our national defense,” John K. Hurley, the Treasury under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in August 2025 after sanctions were imposed on armed group leaders and networks accused of fueling instability in mineral-rich areas, including coltan- and tin-producing zones.
Less than a year later, Washington escalated further by sanctioning former President Joseph Kabila.
Pierre Mukoko
As several contracts linked to the management of foreign trade in the Democratic Republic of Congo approach expiry, Intertek and Bureau Veritas are intensifying lobbying efforts with Congolese authorities.
On May 6, 2026, a delegation from British group Intertek, led by Jeremy Gaspard, the company’s vice president for government and commercial services, was received in Kinshasa by Trade Minister Julien Paluku Kahongya. According to the ministry, the company proposed a public-private partnership with the Congolese state, through the Office congolais de contrôle (OCC), covering product inspection, testing and certification for imports and exports.
The move comes in a sector long dominated by Bureau Veritas BIVAC. For several years, the French group has operated two major programs in the DRC: the import conformity verification program (VOC), on behalf of the OCC, and the foreign trade single-window system (SEGUCE).
Those contracts, whose financial value has not been disclosed publicly, are due to expire this year. The first, awarded in 2006 to the BIVAC subsidiary, expires in November, while the second, signed in 2013 with the BIVAC/Soget consortium, runs out in October. After a renewal and a two-year extension respectively, the government is reportedly considering putting the next concessions out to competitive tender.
According to local media reports, at the last steering committee meeting on the OCC-BIVAC contract in January, Etienne Tshimanga, then director general of the OCC, said “an international tender will be launched in accordance with procurement rules.”
Two months later, Stephane Gaudechon, Bureau Veritas vice president for government contracts, met Prime Minister Judith Suminwa in Abu Dhabi. According to the Prime Minister’s office, discussions focused mainly on the two contracts. “There is a genuine desire to strengthen a 20-year partnership with Bureau Veritas,” Gaudechon said after the meeting.
Persistent criticism
That optimism comes despite persistent criticism from senior Congolese officials over the implementation of the contracts. In 2023, President Felix Tshisekedi asked the Inspection generale des finances (IGF) to assess the execution of the OCC-BIVAC contract, citing shortcomings in the partnership’s implementation.
At the time, some official sources said less than 35% of the contract had been implemented several years after its renewal. Congolese officials also raised concerns over costs considered excessive for the OCC, as well as delays in the delivery of certain equipment and infrastructure.
The foreign trade single-window system has also faced repeated criticism from business operators. Despite progress in digitization, several private sector players continue to point to administrative delays, overlapping procedures and difficulties integrating the various government agencies involved in foreign trade operations.
In November 2025, authorities said 67 out of 77 foreign trade documents had been digitized. In April, Gaudechon told Suminwa that the single-window project was nearing completion.
Those shortcomings have opened the door to new contenders. Already active in the DRC through the Eco-Levy program, which covers environmental certificates for certain imported goods, Intertek now appears to be seeking a broader role in trade inspection and certification activities.
No official tender has yet been launched. But the recent approaches made to Congolese authorities highlight growing competition over infrastructure considered strategic for managing Congo’s trade flows, customs revenues and trade data.
Pierre Mukoko & Ronsard Luabeya
HT DRC Infraco, the operational entity of Helios Towers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, signed a memorandum of understanding with electricity sector regulator Autorité de régulation du secteur de l'électricité (ARE) on May 7, 2026. The agreement, signed by ARE Director General Soraya Aziz Moto and HT DRC Infraco Manager Maixent Bekangba, aims to establish a framework for supplying power to the group’s telecom sites in the country.
According to the ARE, the protocol is designed to facilitate telecom operators’ access to regulated electricity solutions, improve coordination with licensed electricity providers and strengthen tariff transparency. It also provides for collaboration on solutions tailored to off-grid sites or areas facing power supply constraints.
Helios Towers operates nearly 2,800 telecom sites in the DRC, a significant share of which are located in rural areas. In those locations, powering telecom towers relies heavily on generators, batteries or hybrid solar systems to ensure service continuity. The group also plans to invest more than $100 million to expand its infrastructure across 23 provinces, a move expected to increase its energy requirements in a country where electricity access barely exceeds 21%.
The agreement between the ARE and HT DRC Infraco reflects the growing importance of energy in the business model of telecom infrastructure operators in the DRC, a market where mobile internet and mobile money services continue to expand.
According to the latest data from telecom regulator ARPTC, the DRC had 73.9 million active mobile subscriptions in the fourth quarter of 2025, against an estimated population of 112.2 million, representing a penetration rate of 65.9%. Mobile internet now accounts for more than 55% of the sector’s total revenue, while the mobile money adoption rate reached 30.6% at the end of 2025.
Boaz Kabeya
The Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo signed a bilateral agreement on May 7 in Kinshasa setting out the tax, customs and non-tax revenue arrangements for the planned road-rail bridge between Kinshasa and Brazzaville.
The document was signed during a ceremony attended by DRC Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport, Waterways and Connectivity Jean-Pierre Bemba and Republic of Congo Deputy Prime Minister for Territorial Planning and Major Works Jean-Jacques Bouya.
According to the DRC Ministry of Transport, the agreement establishes a common framework for taxation and customs procedures related to the project. It aims to eliminate the risk of double taxation and harmonize tariff procedures applicable to goods in transit as well as future toll revenue.
The signing follows technical discussions held in February 2026 in Kinshasa. At the time, officials from both countries said finalizing the framework was a necessary step before relaunching the process to select the concessionaire responsible for developing the project. The selection is expected to pave the way for financial close.
“The project is now moving into the implementation phase,” the Ministry of Transport said after the May 7 ceremony.
Currently estimated at more than $800 million, according to Congolese authorities, the project is being developed by Africa50 alongside the African Development Bank. The lead developer is responsible for structuring the public-private partnership with the future concessionaire.
The project involves the construction of a 1.575-km toll bridge incorporating a railway line, a road and border control posts on both banks of the Congo River. The infrastructure is intended to strengthen trade and passenger flows between Kinshasa and Brazzaville, which currently rely mainly on river crossings for transport links.
Boaz Kabeya
Ivanhoe Mines is accelerating exploration in the Western Forelands in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with the Canadian mining group now planning to spend $86 million there in 2026, up from the $50 million announced in February, according to its quarterly report published on May 6. The revised figure marks a $36 million increase.
The spending will account for most of Ivanhoe’s global exploration budget, which has been raised to $127 million. The remainder is earmarked for projects in Kazakhstan, Angola, Zambia and South Africa. The increase reflects growing confidence in the potential of the company’s Congolese assets, particularly around Makoko, near the Kamoa-Kakula copper complex.
The 2026 exploration campaign will be Ivanhoe’s largest ever in the Western Forelands. The company plans to drill nearly 100,000 meters to identify new copper-rich zones and further define the district’s resource potential. An updated resource estimate is expected in the third quarter of 2026.
Makoko at the Center of Ivanhoe’s Expansion Strategy
The Western Forelands covers 2,427 square kilometers, roughly six times the size of the Kamoa-Kakula complex, the largest copper operation in the country. Within that area, Makoko has emerged as the company’s key exploration target. Ivanhoe says the district already hosts substantial copper resources and describes it as the world’s fifth-largest copper discovery since Kakula in 2016.
The 2026 program aims both to improve confidence in identified resources and extend exploration further across the district. Since the 2025 resource estimate, the Makoko district has expanded by two kilometers to reach 15 kilometers in length. It is now located less than eight kilometers from Kakula West, strengthening the prospect of a broader copper corridor around Kamoa-Kakula.
“We have extremely strong momentum in the discovery process for major copper systems. The Makoko District copper discovery in the Western Forelands is an emerging giant in the making, and its significance is growing around the clock. Soon, we will reveal our development plans for the Western Forelands,” said Robert Friedland, founder and co-chairman of Ivanhoe Mines.
Copper Demand Supports Long-Term Expansion Plans
The expansion comes as copper prices remain supported by rising demand linked to electrification, power grids, electric vehicles, data centers and artificial intelligence infrastructure. Copper prices reached record highs in 2026, briefly surpassing $14,500 per metric ton in January, according to the International Energy Agency.
For Ivanhoe, the market environment reinforces the strategic value of its Congolese assets. Friedland has described copper as the “king of metals” and says global demand is entering a prolonged growth cycle driven by electrification and digital infrastructure. While Kamoa-Kakula remains the company’s main production engine, the Western Forelands is increasingly positioned as its next growth platform.
That outlook is supported by international forecasts. Global copper demand is expected to rise by more than 40% by 2040, while supply growth is struggling to keep pace, according to UNCTAD. The organization estimates that around 80 new copper mines and $250 billion in investment will be needed by 2030 to meet demand tied to the energy transition and expanding digital infrastructure.
The development timeline nonetheless remains long term. Ivanhoe expects to publish a new resource estimate in the third quarter of 2026, ahead of a preliminary technical study planned for 2027. Those milestones will help determine the economic viability of a future mining project in the Western Forelands.
Pierre Mukoko
Kinshasa is preparing to commission eight fishing boats ordered from Egypt under a government program aimed at improving food and nutritional security. The Cabinet approved the project during its April 24, 2026 meeting following a presentation by the minister of Fisheries and Livestock.
According to an official government statement, the order includes three 27-meter vessels and five 8-meter vessels, all of which have already arrived in the country. Radio Okapi previously described the three larger units as industrial fishing boats acquired for $15 million.
Before putting the vessels into service, the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock commissioned an expert assessment to evaluate their seaworthiness and economic viability. Three companies were approached, but only Mercure Logistics agreed to conduct the evaluation.
A key technical distinction
The assessment also highlighted an important technical distinction. According to the government statement, the vessels are seiners designed for pelagic fishing at depths of up to around 200 meters, rather than trawlers, which are generally used to harvest fish stocks at depths of up to 500 meters.
That distinction is significant in assessing the project's economic potential. It could affect the fishing grounds accessible to the fleet, the species targeted, expected catch volumes and, more broadly, the return on the state's investment.
The Cabinet nevertheless approved the proposal presented by the minister of Fisheries and Livestock. No date has yet been announced for the vessels to enter service. According to a Dec. 27, 2024 government statement, the fleet will be managed by the National Office of Fisheries and Aquaculture (ONPA).
The vessels are expected to strengthen the Democratic Republic of Congo's fishing capacity at a time when domestic production remains insufficient to meet food demand. Key operational details, including the business model, operating costs, management arrangements and deployment conditions, have yet to be clarified.
Timothée Manoke
More...
The construction and concession of the Congolese dry port of Kwala in Tanzania will require an estimated investment of $291.3 million, according to a public-private partnership approval document signed on April 11, 2026, by Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka.
The document, published on April 30, approves the contract awarded to Dubai-based Boston Developers Ltd., which signed the agreement with the Congolese government on March 12. At the time, the financial terms of the partnership had not been disclosed.
The newly released figure provides the first clear indication of the project’s scale. The initiative is part of broader logistics cooperation between Kinshasa and Dodoma along the central transport corridor. However, several key elements remain unspecified in the document reviewed, including the concession period, projected revenues, construction schedule and the concessionaire’s detailed obligations.
According to official statements about the project, financing is expected to come from the private partner.
A Hub 60 Kilometres from Dar es Salaam
The Congolese dry port of Kwala will be part of the Kwala logistics hub, located about 60 kilometres from the port of Dar es Salaam. The platform was opened on July 31, 2025, by Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan. Tanzanian authorities have presented it as a strategic tool to ease congestion at Dar es Salaam and strengthen the country’s role as a regional transit hub.
Under the arrangement, the Democratic Republic of Congo has been allocated 45 hectares at the Kwala site. The facilities are expected to streamline customs procedures, improve cargo tracking for imports and exports, and reduce logistics costs.
According to projections, the integration of the Kwala dry port could cut transit times for Congolese goods by around 10 days, reducing them from roughly 15-16 days to between five and six days.
The project is part of wider logistics cooperation between the DRC and Tanzania. In return for the land allocated to the DRC in Tanzania, the Congolese government has granted Tanzania sites in Haut-Katanga, including in Kasenga and Kasumbalesa, as well as a location at Kasanbondo in Tanganyika province.
In addition to Kwala, the DRC also has access to a 15-hectare site at the port of Katosho in Kigoma, on the Tanzanian shore of Lake Tanganyika. The facility is expected to support Congolese logistics operations in Tanzania, particularly trade flows serving eastern DRC.
Timothée Manoke
China Railway Resources Universal Limited (CRRU) is seeking to expand its strategic metals production in the Democratic Republic of Congo through a partnership with state mining company Minière de Bakwanga (MIBA). The project, presented on May 6, 2026, to Mines Minister Louis Watum Kabamba in the presence of MIBA Director General André Kabanda, aims to develop an integrated copper-cobalt complex in the Grand Kasai region.
According to materials presented by the Chinese delegation, the project would target the territories of Miabi and Kabeya-Kamwanga in Kasai-Oriental province. Planned production capacity ranges from 200,000 to 500,000 tonnes of copper per year, alongside an energy component combining hydropower and solar generation with installed capacity of between 250 MW and 500 MW.
The Mines Ministry described the initiative as a major strategic project for the mining, industrial and energy development of Grand Kasai, as part of efforts to implement presidential commitments to revive the mining and energy sectors.
MIBA Assets Back in Focus
The project draws on mining assets previously identified by MIBA. Several contracts signed between 2020 and 2021 with the company Comikas referenced copper-cobalt deposits across various permits held by the state enterprise in Kasai-Oriental, including permits PR 11858, PR 11859 and PE 410.
Those documents also indicated that the project’s mineral potential had yet to be fully confirmed. In one of the contracts, MIBA acknowledged that it did not have “sufficient information to determine the grades and quantities of copper-cobalt” present within the licence area. The document specified that exploration work would be required to establish “the quantity, quality and delineation” of potential resources.
The contracts also referred to exploration work aimed at identifying copper-cobalt deposits between the Lukula and Lubi rivers, northwest of the SACIM concession. It remains unclear whether that work was ever completed.
Despite the scale of the ambitions announced, several key parameters remain undisclosed. No official estimate of mineral reserves has been published, while the total project cost, development timeline, financing arrangements and the exact division of equity stakes between CRRU and MIBA have not been made public.
Visible Political Backing
The Mines Ministry said discussions focused on implementation arrangements for the project. Minister Kabamba reaffirmed “the government’s commitment to supporting strategic investments capable of contributing to the country’s economic transformation.”
He added that the project is receiving particular attention from President Félix Tshisekedi, who wants to see it move forward rapidly.
The involvement of CRRU, a subsidiary of the state-owned China Railway group, underscores the continued expansion of Chinese companies in the DRC’s strategic mining sector. Presentation materials linked the project to several flagship investments associated with China’s mining ecosystem in the country, including Sicomines, the Busanga hydropower dam and ore processing facilities.
Copper prices have maintained strong momentum for several months, supported by demand linked to electrification, electric vehicles, data centres and energy infrastructure. Copper prices reached record highs in 2026, briefly exceeding $14,500 per tonne in January, according to the International Energy Agency.
Several international organisations, including UNCTAD, estimate that the world will need to develop new large-scale mining projects over the next decade to meet rising demand.
Pierre Mukoko & Ronsard Luabeya
Rawbank reported net banking income of $681.8 million in 2025, a record 32.6% increase year-on-year, compared with 6% growth in 2024. Pre-tax profit rose 34% to $329.4 million, while net profit increased 8.9% to $231.6 million as tax charges nearly tripled to $97.7 million.
The strong revenue growth “reflects a broader revenue base, with significant contributions from lending, transaction banking and treasury operations across all our business segments,” Chief Financial Officer Kadija Sangho Keita said.
That broader revenue mix reflects Rawbank’s shift toward a more diversified banking model built around payments, financial structuring, markets, digital services and transaction banking.
RAW 2030
In 2025, Rawbank launched several initiatives to support that strategy. In investment banking, the lender structured a $400 million syndicated loan for the Kamoa-Kakula copper project and helped arrange the Democratic Republic of Congo’s first eurobond, which raised $1.25 billion in April. The bank also set up the country’s first modern trading floor.
Rawbank also accelerated its push into small and medium enterprise financing, deploying more than 5,000 financing packages worth about $500 million through its 20,000 SME program. It signed a partnership with COPA-Transforme to channel grants to around 5,000 SMEs over five years, for an estimated volume of $300 million.
The bank expanded its product range with the launch of leasing services and grew adjacent businesses such as bancassurance, whose business volume rose more than 150%. Digital services, agent networks and programs supporting women entrepreneurs also helped broaden its client base.
“These achievements are part of strong growth momentum, ahead of the rollout of the RAW 2030 strategic plan,” the bank said. The plan, whose implementation began this year, “aims to turn Rawbank’s solidity into a driver of economic impact for its clients and the financing of the real economy.”
The new direction was symbolized by an April 2025 rebranding, with a logo inspired by the Congolese leopard, intended to embody strength and resilience, and a new tagline that translates to “Rawbank. Beyond a bank, the future starts here.”
For Chief Executive Mustafa Rawji, the priority is now “the real economy — the one that creates jobs, income and productive capacity.” That focus is reflected in a 10% rise in the loan book to $2.29 billion, while deposits grew 1.1% to $4.8 billion. Over the next five years, the bank aims to lift its loan-to-deposit ratio from 47.8% to 50%.
The strategy also puts greater emphasis on financing SMEs and productive supply chains, rather than relying mainly on large mining accounts. Through its 20,000 SME program, Rawbank aims to support 20,000 small and medium enterprises by 2030.
RAW 2030 is also defensive. “The environment is changing rapidly. The economic, financial and regulatory landscape is becoming more demanding. The African banking sector is consolidating around increasingly powerful players. Competition is intensifying. Margins are tightening. In this shifting landscape, standing still means falling behind,” Strategy Director Thomas De Dreux-Brézé said.
To maintain its position as the leading bank in the DRC and Central Africa, Rawbank has set 2030 targets to grow its balance sheet from $6.8 billion to more than $10 billion, raise net banking income from $681.8 million to $938 million, and increase net profit from $231.6 million to $350 million, while keeping its capital and liquidity ratios above Central Bank of Congo requirements.
Pierre Mukoko & Boaz Kabeya
DR Congo’s state-owned shipping line, Lignes maritimes congolaises (LMC), is seeking to strengthen its presence on the Dar es Salaam corridor, one of the main gateways for Congolese foreign trade via the Indian Ocean.
Lambert Mende, chairman of the board of the Congolese public shipping company, met a delegation from Tanzania Shipping Company Limited (TASHICO) in Kinshasa on May 4, 2026.
According to LMC, talks focused on building a strategic partnership to improve logistics links between Kinshasa and Dar es Salaam. The two companies are considering signing a memorandum of understanding in the near term. They have already appointed representatives to oversee joint projects once the agreement is formalized.
LMC said the initiative aims to develop an integrated logistics offering between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania. The partnership is designed to attract cargo moving through eastern and southern DRC, where a significant share of mineral exports already passes through Tanzanian ports, particularly Dar es Salaam.
The partners also aim to position the DRC and Tanzania as a logistics bridge between Africa’s Atlantic and Indian Ocean coastlines. Tanzania’s ambassador to the DRC, Saidi Juma Mchana, said the countries’ complementary trade routes could open access to a regional market of more than 160 million consumers and ease the movement of goods across the subregion.
The partnership is part of LMC’s 2023-2027 revival plan, which aims to reposition the company as a maritime and multimodal transport operator for Congolese foreign trade. The plan includes expanding operations along corridors where LMC currently has a limited presence, including the Dar es Salaam corridor, as well as developing storage capacity and a broader maritime and multimodal transport offering.
The goal is economic: to secure a larger share of Congolese freight, which is still overwhelmingly carried by foreign shipping companies. Under its revival plan, LMC aims to increase its share of the country’s seaborne trade from 0.3% in 2021 to 2% by 2027, raising volumes carried from 45,000 metric tons to about 395,000 metric tons.
Ronsard Luabeya