Why should Congolese companies take advantage of their integration into the EAC ?
With the accession of the DRC, the EAC becomes a market of 280 million consumers said Paluku Mathe Patrick, the CEO of Afroagripreneurs Network, one of the Congolese companies in strong growth.
The membership of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the East African Community (EAC) offers opportunities to member countries. One of these opportunities is the free movement of goods and people from East Africa to the West. This, according to the same sources, notably motivated the acceptance of the DRC’s candidacy by the Member States, which resulted in its official membership on Friday April 8 in Nairobi, Kenya. The signature of this membership is made by President Felix Antoine Tshisekedi in the presence of other Heads of State of the member countries of the EAC.
According to available data, members of the regional organization exported $941 million worth of goods to the DRC in 2019, while their imports accounted for only 5% of the value of these exports.
A study by the Center for Economic Policy Research, a Kampala-based think tank, says the East African Community could earn an additional $240m a year in export volume – a 28% increase – thanks to trade with the DRC. Rwanda and Uganda would be the main beneficiaries.
The DRC remains one of the poorest countries in the world: the World Bank estimates that 73% of the Congolese population, or 60 million people, live on less than $1.90 a day. It is therefore a population with very low purchasing power that joins the EAC. In addition, the weak infrastructure and the constant insecurity on the border with Uganda constitute major challenges.