WAIPA officially kicked off its latest project “Strengthening the capacities of DRC organizations to attract foreign investment and support companies in exporting” in collaboration with the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF).
The 4-day workshop took place in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, with the participation of over 20 representatives from the Ministry of Commerce, ANAPI-RDC, and other key national stakeholders.
This high-impact project focuses on developing robust strategies for DRC to both attract FDI and promote exports, two key drivers of sustainable economic development.
The program started with opening remarks and a strategic overview by José Henrique Vieira Martins, WAIPA’s Chief Expert, who highlighted:
– WAIPA’s role as a global convener and capacity-builder for IPAs,
– The power of cross-institutional collaboration through platforms like EIF, and
– WAIPA’s flagship initiatives, including the World Investment Conference, that provide ongoing peer exchange at the highest level.
Together with Guilhem Delon-Saumier, Project Consultant, the WAIPA representatives delivered, over the course of four days, practical sessions offering tools and frameworks tailored to the DRC context; supporting national efforts to attract more, better, and sustainable investment, while also enabling local enterprises to expand into global markets.
All sessions were delivered entirely in French, underscoring WAIPA’s commitment to localized, accessible capacity-building that meets WAIPA members where they are—linguistically, culturally, and operationally.
This project is part of WAIPA’s growing portfolio of targeted capacity-building programs, designed to respond to the evolving needs of IPAs in emerging and developing economies.
As we continue supporting our members and partners in Africa and beyond in building the capacities needed for effective investment promotion and export development, we would like to thank our partner EIF for making this project possible.
Special thanks also to our partners at the Ministry of Commerce of DR Congo, ANAPI, and to all participants for their active engagement in building a stronger, more connected investment and trade ecosystem in the DRC.
As part of WAIPA’s ongoing mission in Kinshasa, WAIPA Chief Expert José Henrique Vieira Martins had the pleasure of meeting with Ms. Gisele Tshamala, Director of Investment Promotion at ANAPI-RDC.
The meeting served as an important opportunity to reflect on ANAPI’s national strategies for positioning the Democratic Republic of Congo as an attractive destination for foreign direct investment. Discussions also focused on the country’s current investment data and evolving priorities in aligning investment flows with development goals.
Both WAIPA and ANAPI emphasized the value of closer institutional collaboration and agreed to continue their dialogue during the AIM Congress in Abu Dhabi, where WAIPA serve as a key institutional partner and ANAPI will actively participate among WAIPA’s prominent member agencies showcasing their investment opportunities.
This continued dialogue reflects WAIPA’s commitment to working hand-in-hand with its members to strengthen institutional capacity, amplify impact, and build bridges between national efforts and global investment networks.