Kinshasa fair pushes entrepreneurs into the formal economy

By Daniel Okafor

The Agence Congolaise de Presse (ACP) reported on November 1, 2026, that a Kinshasa business fair held on Saturday, October 31, centered on formalization as the route to support and social protection.

The event took place in the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). ACP identified its organizer as the alumni association of Institut 2 Les Bambous. The program had two themes: “Entrepreneurship in DRC: challenges and opportunities” and “Financial education: the key to financial prosperity.”

Jocelyn Nappa, a lecturer in the School of Population and Development Sciences at the University of Kinshasa (Unikin), made the formalization case. Nappa said economic actors must leave a subsistence economy and move toward an economy of growth and opportunity.

What does formalization change?

Nappa described administrative documents as the practical starting point:

“The formalisation is, in fact, a commitment to make the effort to obtain the administrative documents that will enable you to be recognised as an economic actor.

And this formalisation will help you enter the economic system so that you can benefit from support and social protection. This is an opportunity for us to encourage you to formalise your business,”

The sequence matters. Entrepreneurs obtain documents, gain recognition as economic actors and enter the economic system. Nappa said that path allows them to benefit from support and social protection. Formalization, in his account, gives an otherwise informal operator a recognized place in the economy.

He was equally direct about the alternative:

“As long as you work in the informal sector, you are condemning your business to being merely subsistence-based. The entrepreneur must not be afraid of complying with the law,” he added.

Nappa said the awareness campaign he leads should not be judged by the number of businesses established. Its purpose, he said, is to make sure those operators run viable enterprises. The campaign therefore targets more than formal activity: it seeks enterprises capable of moving beyond subsistence.

How should entrepreneurs manage customers and money?

Omer Katamba, an entrepreneurship coach, covered financial literacy and business management tools. His focus was how owners find customers and manage income, rather than relying on walk-in customers.

“We have sought to emphasise management tools, to show you how to seek out customers rather than simply relying on those who come to buy of their own accord.

Because those who buy occasionally live in various places, the ideal is to find reliable and trustworthy partners from whom they can buy regularly,” Katamba said.

Katamba’s preferred method shifts the focus from occasional walk-in business to repeat purchases from reliable, trustworthy partners. His practical test is direct: build relationships that bring customers back, even when buyers live in different places. This gives the owner a more deliberate route to revenue than waiting for whoever arrives.

Katamba also advised entrepreneurs to keep a small notebook containing a record of all expenses. He presented the notebook as a basic tool for managing income effectively. Its value is procedural: owners enter each cost and retain a complete record for review.

What did the fair seek to change?

The two fair themes linked the legal status of entrepreneurs to the tools they need to operate. “Entrepreneurship in DRC: challenges and opportunities” framed the broader business setting. “Financial education: the key to financial prosperity” put money management at the center of the program.

Nappa addressed compliance, recognition, support and viable enterprises. Katamba addressed financial literacy, customer acquisition and expense records. For the entrepreneurs present, formalization was the entry point, not the finish line. The next test is whether administrative recognition produces viable operations, repeat customers and tighter control of income.