News (995)
Kongo Central Vice Governor Prospère Ntela Ntambidila on May 12, 2026 launched rehabilitation works covering 160 kilometers of rural feeder roads in the territories of Luozi and Songololo, according to a statement from the provincial government.
The works cover two routes: the Malanga-Luozi axis, stretching 95 kilometers, and the Kongo dia Kati-Songamani-Vila 1-Vila 2 axis, covering 65 kilometers. The project is financed by the provincial government through the Bureau central de coordination (BCECO) and will be carried out by Oriental Roads and Constructions (ORC) over a projected period of 12 months, according to the provincial government.
The two axes are described as key corridors for the local economy. Their rehabilitation is intended to open up several agricultural production zones, facilitate the movement of food crops to consumer markets and reduce transportation costs in that part of the province.
This new tranche is part of a wider program launched in 2025. On Oct. 25, 2025, Governor Grâce Nkuanga Bilolo inaugurated rehabilitation works covering 550 kilometers of agricultural feeder roads across the province in Kinzau-Mvuete, aimed at improving the flow of food products to markets.
The first phase of that program covered 230 kilometers of priority roads over an announced period of nine months. The routes included Kinzau-Mvuete, Seke-Banza, Mbatassiala and Lombo-Fuese-Kilukweta, in the territories of Kasangulu and Mbanza-Ngungu, with execution entrusted to the Agence des travaux publics du Kongo Central.
The May 2026 announcement marks the opening of a new sequence, with different routes and a different implementation arrangement. The statement does not specify, however, whether the 160 kilometers represent a new phase of the 550-kilometer program or a separate project financed independently by the province.
Ronsard Luabeya
In 2025, mobile internet revenue exceeded half of the telecommunications market's total turnover in DRC, confirming a gradual pivot in operators' business models toward data.
According to data from DR Congo's postal and telecommunications regulator, the ARPTC, the sector's overall revenue reached $2.394 billion in 2025, with mobile internet services alone generating $1.287 billion. Data now accounts for roughly 53.8% of market revenue, up from around 14% in 2016.
BDO RDC highlighted the same trend in a sector note published in May 2026, stating that data has become the primary growth driver of the Congolese telecoms sector.
The ARPTC's fourth-quarter 2025 report confirmed this shift in usage patterns. Traditional services such as voice calls and SMS are declining, while consumers are increasingly turning to multimedia content, messaging applications, streaming and digital services.
Average data consumption per subscriber has risen sharply. According to BDO RDC, it increased more than 24-fold between 2016 and 2025, driven by the spread of smartphones, improved connectivity and the expansion of digital applications.
Airtel still leads
In the mobile internet revenue segment, Airtel held the top position with a 43.02% market share in the fourth quarter of 2025, ahead of Orange at 28.44%, Vodacom at 24.63% and Africell at 3.91%. The regulator attributed Airtel's performance to the appeal of its data packages, the strength of its infrastructure and one of the country's most extensive 4G deployments. It also cited a strategy aimed at broadening enterprise access to data services.
The growth of mobile internet has come alongside a significant challenge: service quality. The ARPTC noted deteriorating service as perceived by subscribers across all operators over several quarters, a problem that has become more acute as digital usage increases.
Beyond revenue, the expansion of mobile internet is part of a broader digital transformation dynamic. The DRC had 73.9 million active mobile subscriptions at the end of 2025, for an overall penetration rate of 65.9%. The mobile internet penetration rate reached 33%.
Mobile money continued to advance as well. The ARPTC recorded 34.3 million active mobile money subscriptions in the fourth quarter of 2025, representing a penetration rate of 30.6%. The trend confirms the growing integration of telecommunications into digital financial services.
Boaz Kabeya
The Roads and Drainage Department (OVD) has awarded Hong Feng SARL a contract to modernize 22.021 km of roads in the city of Kalemie, in Tanganyika province.
Under a May 4, 2026 decision signed by OVD Director General Victor Tumba Tshikela, the contract is valued at $41.79 million, equivalent to nearly $2 million per kilometer.
The award followed a restricted tender process approved after OVD requested authorization in February 2026. According to the decision, the companies consulted included Hong Feng, Safrimex, Groupe Guang Ping International, China Guangdong Provincial Changda Highway Engineering, Kin Prestige, Colosse Construction, Bahari Engineering, Jin Jin International and Shandong Construction International.
OVD then sought a no-objection opinion on March 31, 2026, regarding the bid evaluation report. The opinion was issued on April 24, 2026, clearing the way for the provisional award to Hong Feng.
The contract must still complete the remaining procedures required under public procurement regulations before it can be formally signed and construction work can begin.
The project covers the modernization of an urban road network in Kalemie. The decision does not specify the technical scope of the works, the construction timeline or the final contractual terms.
Established in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2012, Hong Feng is a Chinese company specializing in construction and infrastructure rehabilitation. It has participated in several public projects, including the construction of the building housing the General Inspectorate of Finance and anti-erosion works in Kinshasa.
Ronsard Luabeya
Airtel Money DRC, the financial services arm of Airtel DRC, posted a 42% jump in revenue to $194.8 million in 2025, up from $137.2 million the previous year, according to a report by Congo's postal and telecommunications regulator, the ARPTC, published April 10, 2026.
The Indian operator is now rapidly closing the gap with M-Pesa, Vodacom DRC's mobile money service, which has dominated the market since its 2012 launch. M-Pesa recorded $207.1 million in revenue in 2025, a 23% increase, according to the same data. The gap between the two players narrowed to $12.2 million from $31.3 million a year earlier. Airtel Money's average market share in mobile financial services transactions rose from 37.5% in 2024 to 40.8% in 2025, while M-Pesa's share slipped from 46% to 43.4%.
According to the GSMA, the global mobile industry association, even a slight increase in transfer or withdrawal fees can trigger a much sharper drop in the number of users or transactions. Fee levels therefore remain a key factor in users' choice of mobile money provider.
That pricing strategy helped drive Airtel Money's growth in 2025. In April 2024, the company announced a 30% cut in withdrawal fees and a 20% reduction in transfer fees. After the fee cuts, Airtel Money's active subscriber base grew 22.4% over the year to 11.1 million.
That growth, however, trailed that of Orange Money, the mobile money arm of Orange DRC, whose active customer base surged 50.4% to 7.7 million — the strongest expansion in the market, according to the ARPTC report. M-Pesa remained the market leader, with 15.4 million active subscribers, according to the regulator, which counts customers who have been active at least once in the past 90 days.
Internal billing advantage
Airtel Money's competitiveness in the Congolese market rests on a little-known internal arrangement. Between April 2024 and July 2025, Airtel DRC billed its mobile money subsidiary an average of just 0.61% of transaction revenue for the use of USSD codes, compared with 3.69% at Vodacom, 11.48% at Orange and 12.47% at Africell, according to monthly data compiled by the ARPTC.
The internal billing rate later rose more than fivefold, reaching 3.38% in August 2025 before settling at 2.90% in December. It nonetheless remained the lowest in the market throughout.
Airtel's ability to maintain a lower internal billing rate than rivals Vodacom and Orange stems from a leaner operating model inherited from Airtel Africa's expansion across 14 markets. The group, which reported 54.1 million mobile money customers as of end-March 2026 in its recently published annual accounts, operates on a shared regional technical platform and leverages its dominant position in mobile internet in the DRC. Airtel holds a 43.5% share of revenue and 38.9% of mobile data volumes in the country, making it the market leader in both categories, according to the ARPTC report.
The Congolese digital payments market is, however, evolving rapidly. On April 9, 2026, the Central Bank of the Congo announced a ban on cash payments in foreign currencies, effective April 9, 2027. The measure does not prohibit the use of the dollar, but requires dollar transactions to be processed through bank transfers, payment cards or electronic wallets. It is expected to boost mobile money transaction volumes in the coming quarters, in an economy that is more than 90% dollarized.
At the same time, U.S. fintech Wave, which counts 18 million users across Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire and Cameroon, has entered the DRC market and charges a 1% transfer fee. Its arrival is also expected to reshape the competitive landscape.
Idriss Linge, with Ecofin Agency
The Democratic Republic of Congo's public procurement regulator has suspended a tender for the digitalization of passenger airport fees, known as Go-Pass, after a competitor challenged the contract award.
The decision was made on May 5, 2026, by the Dispute Resolution Committee of the Autorité de régulation des marchés publics (ARMP), following a complaint filed by Veritas Engineering & Project Management Consultants against the Régie des voies aériennes (RVA).
The complaint followed the provisional award of the $4.06 million contract, including taxes, to Mayele SAS. Veritas Engineering, which also bid for the contract, said it had filed a formal grievance with the RVA on March 11, 2026, before referring the matter to the ARMP on March 19.
According to the decision, Veritas is seeking access to the minutes of the bid-opening session and the evaluation report. The company said it had submitted a complete application, including the required administrative documents, technical and financial proposals, and a bank guarantee.
Veritas also said it was never informed that its bid had been rejected and was not given any explanation. The company further pointed to a discrepancy between the amount announced during the bid opening — $3.95 million — and the figure in the provisional award notice, which was set at $4.06 million.
The Dispute Resolution Committee noted that the RVA had not responded to the ARMP's request for explanations. It said the issues raised required further review before a final decision could be made.
As a result, the ARMP suspended the procurement process and instructed its directorate-general to conduct an audit. The report must be submitted within 30 calendar days of formal notification to the contracting authority.
The suspension does not amount to a cancellation of the contract. It is a precautionary measure pending the audit's findings and a final ruling on the procurement process.
The Go-Pass digitalization project aims to replace the RVA's paper coupon system with an electronic payment mechanism. According to the authorities, the goal is to secure fee collection and reduce fraud risks at the airports concerned.
Timothée Manoke
Access Bank, headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, is preparing a new round of partial foreign divestments. Chief Executive Roosevelt Ogbonna announced the plan during a meeting with investors in the country's commercial capital, according to Bloomberg. The move follows a directive from the Central Bank of Nigeria requiring banks to limit equity investments in foreign subsidiaries to no more than 10% of shareholders' equity. Access Bank has 12 months to comply.
The development creates uncertainty around Access Bank DRC. The Nigerian group controls the Congolese subsidiary almost entirely, holding 99.98% of its capital, according to Access Holdings' consolidated financial statements as of March 31, 2026. In the group's books, the stake is valued at 13.2 billion naira, or about 22.3 billion Congolese francs based on a recent indicative exchange rate of 1 naira to 1.69 Congolese francs.
The issue is particularly sensitive because it goes beyond portfolio management. In its 2025 annual report, Access Holdings disclosed that it paid 1.8 billion naira in penalties for breaches of Central Bank of Nigeria rules and Nigerian banking law. Among those sanctions was a 200-million-naira fine linked to non-compliance with limits on aggregate equity investment in foreign subsidiaries.
At the end of the first quarter of 2026, Access Bank's portfolio of indirect foreign equity holdings remained elevated. Foreign banking subsidiaries represented 446.6 billion naira in book value, unchanged from the end of 2025. Compared with Access Bank Nigeria's shareholders' equity of around 2,143 billion naira in entity-level consolidated accounts, the exposure stands at roughly 20.8%, more than double the regulatory ceiling. To restore compliance, Access would need to reduce that exposure to around 214.3 billion naira, implying a reduction of 232.3 billion naira.
Several competing priorities
The key question is where and how Access Holdings will cut exposure. The bank can sell existing shares in certain subsidiaries, directly reducing the book value of its investments, or open those subsidiaries to new investors, diluting its stake while strengthening local capital bases. The first option would reduce regulatory exposure more quickly. The second makes more operational sense, especially in markets where the group wants to keep financing growth without giving up control.
The largest potential adjustment lies not in the Democratic Republic of Congo but in the United Kingdom. Access Bank UK accounts for 163.9 billion naira, or nearly 37% of the foreign equity portfolio. That represents roughly one-third of the group's excess exposure, but it is also one of Access's most strategic assets outside Nigeria. In 2025, the British unit generated 486.6 billion naira in operating income, compared with 84.7 billion naira for Access Bank DRC. A disposal in the United Kingdom would therefore reduce regulatory pressure quickly, but it would also affect a platform central to Africa-Europe trade flows, trade finance and foreign-currency revenues.
The situation in the DRC is different. The subsidiary would be relatively easy to dilute because Access owns nearly all of its capital. But the operation would be too small, in book-value terms, to solve the problem on its own. Even a sale of 30% of Access Bank DRC would reduce Access Bank Plc's exposure by only about 4 billion naira. Reducing the group's stake to just above 50% would free up around 6.6 billion naira. Relative to the adjustment required, the impact would remain limited.
That accounting constraint does not mean the DRC will be spared. On the contrary, it could be part of a broader package of minority stake sales, precisely because the group can bring in a local or institutional partner without losing control. For Access, the objective would be less about solving the regulatory equation in Kinshasa than about sending a signal: the group is gradually reducing its exposure, diversifying the shareholder base of its subsidiaries and responding to concerns from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
DRC: a profitable asset
The situation is more complicated because the Congolese subsidiary is now profitable. In 2025, Access Bank DRC generated 84.7 billion naira in operating income. Growth continued in the first quarter of 2026, with operating revenue rising to 20.3 billion naira from 17.2 billion naira a year earlier. Quarterly net profit increased from around 5.6 billion naira in the first quarter of 2025 to 7.9 billion naira in the same period of 2026.
The DRC is therefore a small asset on Access's balance sheet, but one that is beginning to contribute meaningfully to the group's African profitability. A 20% minority stake sale would automatically transfer one-fifth of those earnings to new shareholders. Based on first-quarter 2026 results, that would represent around 1.6 billion naira in quarterly net profit that would no longer accrue to Access shareholders. The earnings cost therefore appears larger than the regulatory relief such a transaction would provide.
In that context, the most likely scenario for Access Bank DRC is not an exit but a partial opening of its capital. The group could sell a limited minority stake, potentially between 10% and 25%, to a local investor, development finance institution or regional financial partner. That would allow Access to retain strategic control of the subsidiary while easing pressure from Nigerian regulators.
The DRC is not an isolated market for Nigerian banks. Both UBA and FirstBank also operate there. In both cases, however, the regulatory constraint appears less severe. UBA's 2025 accounts value its stake in its DRC subsidiary at 22.4 billion naira, while total investments across all subsidiaries stood at 260.6 billion naira, well below Access's level. Penalties reported by UBA in 2025 related to other regulatory issues and did not include comparable sanctions linked to aggregate investment in foreign subsidiaries.
FirstBank, for its part, initially acquired 75% of the former Banque internationale de crédit before purchasing the remaining 25%, making the Congolese unit wholly owned. But publicly available information reviewed for this article does not indicate constraints comparable to those facing Access Holdings.
For the Congolese subsidiary, the issue is therefore less an immediate threat than a period of shareholder uncertainty. Access Bank DRC could remain under the group's control while welcoming new investors. But the subsidiary is now part of a broader balancing act, driven from Lagos and overseen by Abuja: reducing international exposure without weakening the businesses supporting the group's African growth.
Idriss Linge, with Ecofin Agency
The Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda are expected to sign six memoranda of understanding aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation in trade, infrastructure and security. The agreements are expected during a two-day official visit by President Félix Tshisekedi to Kampala that began on May 11, 2026.
They were announced by Congolese Deputy Prime Minister and Interior and Security Minister Jacquemain Shabani following the ninth session of the Joint Permanent Commission (JPC).
According to a statement from the Congolese Ministry of Hydrocarbons, experts from both countries spent several days reviewing the documents, which were subsequently examined at the ministerial level before being cleared for signature.
The Congolese delegation in Kampala includes Minister of State for Hydrocarbons Acacia Bandubola Mbongo and roughly a dozen other cabinet members and senior government officials.
The new agreements come as Kinshasa and Kampala push ahead with several cross-border infrastructure projects intended to support bilateral trade.
On March 5, the infrastructure ministers of both countries announced the launch of paving works on the first 15 kilometers of the Kasindi-Beni road, a strategic 80-kilometer corridor linking North Kivu to the Ugandan border. According to the Congolese Ministry of Infrastructure, the decision was aimed at reviving a project that had been stalled by a series of administrative and technical constraints.
The road is part of a cross-border road program launched by Presidents Tshisekedi and Yoweri Museveni in 2021. The program covers the Kasindi-Beni, Beni-Butembo and Bunagana-Rutshuru-Goma corridors, spanning a combined 223 kilometers.
The Kampala talks are also taking place against a backdrop of growing trade between the two countries. According to data compiled by the Bank of Uganda, official Congolese imports from Uganda reached $542.74 million during the 2024/2025 fiscal year. When informal flows estimated by the Ugandan central bank are included, total bilateral trade approaches $1 billion annually.
Alongside the commercial agenda, Congolese and Ugandan authorities are maintaining their security cooperation in eastern DRC, where several road corridors used for cross-border trade continue to be affected by instability.
Boaz Kabeya
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
More...
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