By Mandy Euston-Brown
Mandated by our network and partners to present agriculture and infrastructure projects to investors and financiers, DRC Invest in partnership with the African Agri Council and African Development Bank, is thrilled to bring you an Investment Discovery Mission in Kinshasa from 7 – 8 February 2022.
First of its kind, the roadshow promises to design an experience and platform that welcomes talks around attractive projects with opportunities for private investment, presenting the DRC as a major investment and business destination. The investment discovery mission is built around the tenet to support the development of food and agriculture with a focus on undertaking high-quality private sector led projects in food & agriculture and creating Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs).
African Development Bank research shows that Africa is less industrialized now than it was thirty years ago. There is therefore a need to build resilient, reliable, sustainable, and high quality infrastructure to support economic development and human well-being in nations such as the DRC. The African Development Bank remains ready to support this African giant in realizing its true potential, utilizing its abundance of resources it is endowed with, and seeing it into fruition.
DRC is not looking to simply develop its agriculture industry, but seeks to rapidly increase the scale of investments into infrastructure projects to revive its development agenda. DRC Invest identifies investment ready projects that have been fully developed in agriculture, energy, healthcare, water, transport, ICT infrastructure etc. and secure the necessary capital. “We intend to pursue ambitious transformation targets to awaken an African giant,” said Mr. Ben Leyka, Chief Executive Officer at African Agri Council and Acting CEO at DRC Invest.
The success of an SAPZ is not just in having the infrastructure put in place by the government but really having it run efficiently, having high occupancy and competent management. “DRC Invest will be instrumental in promoting occupancy, providing advisory support for the creation of an efficient governance structure. We will therefore schedule a series of working groups ahead of the 3 Investment Discovery Missions taking place next year, leading up to the main event; the DRC Investment Summit”, said Mr. Leyka. “We invite different private sector operators who could play a pivotal role in the development and sustainability of the SAPZs to contact us and register their interest” continued Mr. Leyka.
The development of new government and private sector led Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs) offers unlimited opportunities for established solutions providers and private operators to strategically position themselves in the early development phases; the programme and format of the upcoming working groups and Investment Discovery Missions have been tailor-made to ensure that DRC Invest partners, who include DFIs, senior government officials, private operators, financial and global investors can maximize on the opportunity to interact with their peers in the early consultation phases and join a consortium of SAPZs operators.
The Investment Discovery Mission Roadshow in Kinshasa will be the first of many exciting stepping stones that will lead to the inaugural DRC Investment Summit taking place from the 27 – 29 June 2022. More trade shows, investment missions, working groups and private meetings are in the pipeline, with dates and venues to be announced soon.
About DRC Invest
DRC Invest is a partnership created to attract and facilitate private and public sector investment in agriculture and infrastructure development in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Our work consists of increasing the number of viable, bankable private and PPP projects and increasing the available pool of funds in targeted industries by altering the risk–return characteristics of investments.
Through our innovative approach and bold actions, we lobby on behalf of the private sector to improve the business and investment climate, and work with our network of investors to unlock a new wave of financing and partnership to support the momentous growth that the country needs to be able to drive millions of people out of poverty.
About DRC Investment Summit
The DRC Investment Summit is a global meeting place for investment in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Summit brings together global investors, businesses, developers, and policy makers to attract and retain investment as well as discuss trends that influence economic growth in the DRC.
The Summit, taking place from 27 – 29 June in Kinshasa, will present the country as an investment destination, highlighting its commitment to a market economy, where obstacles to private investment are removed.
The DRC Investment Summit will bring over 1250 high level participants targeting over US$10 Billion worth of investment. The Summit will feature private and PPP agriculture, infrastructure development projects in the Investor Discovery Sessions – DRC is open for business and it is moving towards business friendly policies and engagement.
Get in touch for more information
Project submission and investment interest
ben.leyka@drcinvest.com
Speaking opportunity
caroline.mubima@drcinvest.com
Partnerships and media opportunity
cindy.eustonbrown@drcinvest.com
Sponsorships opportunity
manuel.singano@drcinvest.com
Register your interest and we will add you to the invitation list
mzamo.jika@drcinvest.com