Equity Chief Executive Officer James Mwangi[Photo: the-star.co.ke]
Equity Group in liaison with the Kenyan Government launched the inaugural trade mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo (Kenya – DRC Trade Mission 2021) as part of efforts to boost bilateral trade, regional integration, and cooperation.
As part of the cross-border agreement, the bank would facilitate 200 entrepreneurs in Kenya to seek trade and investment opportunities in the Central African country which is among the six countries where it operates in the continent.
James Mwangi says that the key focus of the initiative will be the agro-processing sector whereby the bank would provide incentives to entrepreneurs to invest in processing, packaging, and exporting.
“As a Group, we realize the power of the regional and continental market and it is this spirit that prompted us to promote the regionalization of Kenyan businesses and the businesses in the Great Lakes Region, We have gained enough experience in the markets we operate in, we commit to using this knowledge to support businesses that are looking to venture into DRC and the larger East and Central Africa region,” Mwangi said.
He said the inaugural cross border initiative will encourage Kenyan private sector players to venture into the DRC and help to showcase the opportunities for regional trade
“Equity Group is committed to championing the economic prosperity of the people of Africa. We are excited to create a platform that encourages networking, benchmarking of business opportunities and sharing market insights,” he said.
Kenya’s Ambassador to DRC, George Masafu noted that the advantage of this public-private partnership in this venture is in creating a conducive environment to do cross-border trade.
He added that economic diplomacy and economic goodwill among the two governments will ensure that the business within this trade mission are fully supported.
“This partnership is committed to unlocking the business by addressing existing barriers such as regulatory or trade that exist between the two countries in order to open up cross border trade,” Ambassador Masafu said.
Geoffrey Botuli – 2nd Secretary, Embassy of DRC in Kenya, on his part called upon members and participants of the DRC trade mission to ‘to trust the process” saying that “The DRC Government is committed to offering the requisite support to facilitate the 14-day trade mission in the DRC.”