The Makutano Network held its 9th Business Forum in Abidjan on 20 and 21 September. For the first time, the Forum was held outside Central Africa and brought together 150 Congolese and Ivorian decision-makers, with the aim of unlocking intra-Africa’s untapped trade potential,

At the end of two-day meetings, interactions and partnerships, six (6) strategic projects were announced in the fields of business promotion, insurance and economic financing. ‘These announcements reinforce the mission of the Makutano Network: to transform the continent through public-private dialogue and partnerships between leaders across Africa,’ said the organizers in a press release.

Facilitating the movement of people, increasing mutual knowledge of markets and strengthening the framework for cooperation to boost intra-African trade

The DRC’s National Agency for the Promotion of Investment (ANAPI) has also announced that it will facilitate trade between the DRC and Côte d’Ivoire. ‘Our discussions with private sector players,
particularly at the Makutano Forum, have highlighted the need to facilitate the movement of people, increase mutual knowledge of markets and strengthen the framework for cooperation in order to boost intra-African trade,’ said Anthony Nkinzo, Director General of ANAPI.

To this end, concrete solutions to these challenges have been announced. The first of these is the launch of the process to remove visas between the DRC and Côte d’Ivoire. The Director-General of the DRC’s Directorate-General for Migration has given his approval, and technical exchanges have begun between the relevant departments in the two countries.

In addition, the Ivorian ambassador to the DRC and the director general of ANAPI will organize the first Ivorian-DRC economic mission from March 22 to 24. ANAPI and the Center de Promotion des Investissements de Côte d’Ivoire (CEPICI) will sign a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation for the mutual promotion of investments. The Association of Insurance and Reinsurance Companies of the Democ
ratic Republic of Congo (ASAR – RDC) and the Association of Insurance Companies of Côte d’Ivoire (ASA – CI) have also signed a cooperation agreement.

The two insurance markets are extremely buoyant

‘The two insurance markets are extremely buoyant. In the DRC, the potential is estimated at five (5) billion USD over the next five years, whereas the sector is currently worth only 300 million USD. In Côte d’Ivoire, the sector is worth USD 859.3 million, with an annual growth rate of 14%,’ said Alain Kaninda, Director General of the Insurance Regulatory and Control Authority (ARCA).

During the forum, ASAR and ASA signed a cooperation agreement providing for the training of professionals to promote the insurance culture, technical assistance between Ivorian and Congolese operators, the introduction of development tools and a framework for exchanges, particularly on awareness and supervision.

The sector’s players also decided to draw up a three-year tripartite (government, insurers and regulator) strategic plan
focusing on four areas:

Taxation, with the introduction of incentives and fiscal measures to encourage the uptake of insurance products; education, through outreach and training to help develop the insurance culture and insurance technicians in the DRC; Financing, with the introduction of financial vehicles and instruments to enable insurance to play its role in supporting the economy; Growth of the sector, by strengthening proximity and regaining the confidence of policyholders, which will increase the penetration rate of insurance products.

‘The aim of this strategic plan is to improve the insurance penetration rate in the DRC (0.4%) to bring it closer to the current average in sub-Saharan Africa (2-3%). This will enable insurers to provide greater support to the national economy and restore to the insurance sector the economic and social role so eagerly awaited by economic and private operators. The first review of this plan will take place at the Makutano 10 Forum,’ said Godelive de Cordier Okit’Otete,
Managing Director of SUNU Assurances IARD DRC.

Financing: leveraging local resources

Finally, André Nayembwe, Professor of Economics, announced the launch of a qualitative and quantitative study on local resources that can be mobilized for the development of the Democratic Republic of Congo. ‘We have to meet a financing need measured in billions of US dollars. We cannot rely on public development finance or the capital markets alone. We also need to leverage local resources. This study is crucial in stimulating real public action to help finance the needs of the economy,’ says Ginette Nzau-Muteta, Deputy Chief of Staff at the Ministry of Finance of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Leading personalities

Over the two days of the Forum, a number of leading figures from the Ivorian and Congolese public and private sectors took part in the discussions that led to the solutions presented. Among them were Patrick Achi, Prime Minister of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of the F
ederal Republic of Nigeria, and Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde, Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The two leaders were surrounded by a large delegation of ministers responsible for the issues discussed with the private sector. These public decision-makers were able to engage in an open and direct dialogue with private sector leaders such as Marna Cloete, President of Ivanhoe Mines, Godelive de Cordier Okit’otete, Managing Director of SUNU Assurances IARD RDC, Jean Claude Diplo,

MAKUTANO is a network of businessmen and women created in Kinshasa in 2014 to take back ownership of the development of a region with exceptional potential, sclerotic by the lack of exchanges between the various players in the country’s ecosystem.

Having succeeded in creating a climate of trust and renewed dialogue between private actors and with public decision-makers, MAKUTANO now works on a daily basis for the development of the continent by facilitating, securing and intensifying business relations between pan-A
frican decision-makers.

Over the past nine years, Makutano has brought together hundreds of captains of industry and leading African public decision-makers at its annual forum, including six current and former Heads of State. The network has over 500 members in the DRC, Africa and around the world.

Source: Africa News Agency