The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has tipped Kenyans to invest in its minerals and agricultural sectors in deals that will Equity Bank #ticker:EQTY finance.
Governor of East Kasai province Jeanette Musuamba said the DRC, which has diamonds, iron, gold, cobalt and other minerals, provides a lucrative investment opportunity for Kenyan investors.
“Serious exploitation can be explored for processing diamonds and other minerals at an industrial level. We also have massive deposits of construction materials like sand and granite, which exists in many areas,” said the governor, adding that the demand for suitable housing remains insatiable.
Ms Musuamba spoke when she hosted the Kenya-DRC mission comprising 300 investors and participants from Kenya.
The investors are visiting DRC for a two-week trade mission as part of an Equity Group-backed partnership with the governments of Kenya and DRC to foster trade and investment ties.
DRC Congo whose application to join the East African Community bloc was approved this week has a population of 93 million — nearly twice that of Kenya — with 45 percent of the population in towns, presenting consumption opportunities.
Equity through its Kenyan arm and its DRC subsidiary EquityBCDC is looking to fund businesses that are seeking opportunities in four DRC cities— Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, Goma, and Mbuji Mayi.
“This trade mission was organised with the sole purpose of unlocking trade, tourism and investment opportunities in DRC and this is already bearing fruit,” said EquityBCDC managing director Celestin Mukeba.
“It is in this vein of expanding wealth that Equity has brought more than 300 Kenyans to DRC in four cities for networking and matchmaking.”
Equity has pointed to the strategic importance of its DRC’s subsidiary to its future growth.
Equity first entered into the DRC in September 2015 after acquiring a 79 percent stake in SME-focused ProCredit Bank in a Sh4.5 billion share swap deal that saw it issue 70.8 million shares to investors in the subsidiary.Equity last year followed up with acquiring 66.53 percent stake in BCDC.The DRC is the sixth biggest export market for Kenyan goods, helped by historical trade linkages and direct air links between Nairobi and DRC’s Kinshasa and Lubumbashi. bnjoroge@ke.nationmedia.com