Democratic Republic of the Congo—Essor: For an Environment Conducive to Investment

The five-year Essor Programme was launched by a consortium headed by Pricewaterhouse. Essor acted at meso (business associations) and macro (government) levels to improve the incomes of the poor through the development of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs)—including those that are women- and youth-owned and those in rural areas—through reforms to the country’s investment climate and policies.

Essor’s workstreams focused on:

1. Implementing the Organisation of the Harmonisation of the Business Law in Africa (OHADA), an initiative that comprises 17 countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC);
2. Combatting corruption;
3. Improving access to electricity at the provincial level; and
4. Expanding access to finance (Essor A2F), the workstream implemented by DAI.

Essor A2F Sample Activities

• Assist the Ministry of Finance to develop an MSME-specific chapter inside the first National Financial Inclusion Strategy.
• Support the National Financial Education Programme.
• Provide exclusive technical assistance aimed at operationalising a leasing-enabling environment following the DRC’s adoption of its leasing law.
• Provide exclusive technical assistance aimed at effective market liberalisation through an inclusive insurance-enabling environment following the DRC’s adoption of a new insurance code.

Essor A2F Select Results

• Developed a Collateral Registry IT tool that allows data gathering, sharing, and management of information on borrowers’ collateral by financial institutions.
• Designed financial literacy modules to train potential lessors and lessees in the DRC on how debt, credit, and leasing works.
• Ongoing assistance to the Banque Centrale du Congo led to the bank’s “Instruction,” or implementing measures, to financial institutions regarding leasing.