Micro, small, and medium-sizedenterprises (MSMEs) dominate the private sector of theDemocratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and can serve as anengine of growth and job opportunities for the country. Tosupport the growth of MSMEs and increase employment andentrepreneurship opportunities, the DRC government prepareda SME Development and Growth Project with support andfunding from the World Bank Group (WBG). To betterunderstand the challenges particular segments of MSMEs face,WBG with support from the competitive industries andinnovation program (CIIP) conducted a MSME ecosystemanalysis in four project locations in the DRC: Kinshasa,Goma, Lubumbashi, and Matadi. The study leveraged a diverserange of data collection channels and methods to capturedeep, detailed, and meaningful insights on formal andinformal MSMEs in the DRC. Overall, the MSMEs report apositive revenue growth trend in the past five years. Thisincrease is linked to growth in domestic demand and improvedquality of suppliers. The key conclusions andrecommendations reflect the needs of various types of MSMEsand the international experience of policy responses thatare adapted on their needs: simplify and make moretransparent the policy environment; address market andinstitutional gaps to foster private investment in theMSMEs; strengthen and expand the base of opportunityentrepreneurs; devise innovative solutions to infrastructurechallenges; pilot approaches to address MSME skills gap atscale; and pursue integration into national market and valuechains. Recommendations from the multi-stakeholder dialoguesabout the SME ecosystem will support the implementation ofthe SME Growth and Development Project but can also beapplied more broadly and inform the design of governmentpolicies and reforms.
PDF
download
878987797
028-85220240
