Author: Emmanuel Mbemba

Strategic Corridor Linking Mayoko to the Atlantic The July signing in Brazzaville of a 737 million-euro convention between the Chemin de fer Congo-Océan and Ulsan Mining Congo closes a lengthy negotiation phase that began shortly after the 2024 bilateral mining agreement. The 312-kilometre stretch popularly known as the “Ex-Comilog line” carries symbolic weight: it reconnects the iron-rich uplands of Mayoko-Moussondji to the deep-water port and Special Economic Zone of Pointe-Noire, a gateway that already handles over 60 percent of the Republic’s external trade according to port authority data. Rehabilitation encompasses track renewal, signalling upgrades and a modern operations centre designed…

A Convergence of Diplomatic Timelines When Ambassador Enrico Nunziata walked into the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and the Digital Economy on 22 July, he carried more than a courtesy note; he brought a blueprint for a new layer of Italian-Congolese engagement. Only weeks earlier, on 16 June, Brazzaville and Rome had initialled a memorandum of understanding designed to accelerate Congo-Brazzaville’s digital transition. By choosing the republic as a pilot country for its broader Mattei Plan, Italy signalled that digital cooperation is no longer an ancillary element of foreign policy but a tangible instrument of economic statecraft (Italian MFA, 2024). Inside…

Kinshasa’s Entrepreneurial Pulse Beyond Statistics On the broad boulevards of Kinshasa the language of possibility has begun to rival street-corner rhetoric about constraints. According to the World Bank, nearly three Congolese out of four are under 30, a demographic that transforms the capital into an incubator more than a mere metropolis. It is into that crucible that the Team Dr Balako Liyanza foundation inserted itself in 2022, declaring that entrepreneurship is no longer an optional extra-curricular activity but a prerequisite for economic security. The organisation’s recent announcement that it will intensify coaching, seed-fund matching and business literacy workshops during the…

Parisian Retreat Meets Yaoundé Opportunity The French banking group Société Générale, engaged since 2023 in a broad realignment of its African portfolio, has agreed to transfer its 83.68 % stake in Société Générale Cameroun to the Cameroonian State. Finance Minister Louis-Paul Motaze, by formalising the accord on 15 July 2025, opened the door to new investors that could reinforce the local franchise while accompanying Yaoundé’s ambition to deepen financial inclusion. The split between a strategic retreat by a European lender and the assertive posture of Cameroon’s authorities creates an investment tableau that regional and continental actors are eager to occupy.…

A corridor where mineral meets maritime In a move that quietly recasts the economic geography of Central Africa, the Republic of Congo has endorsed a 737 million euro convention with Ulsan Mining Congo for the complete renovation of the 285-kilometre rail artery that links the iron-rich uplands of Mayoko‐Moussondji to the deep-water port of Pointe-Noire. The Chemin de fer Congo-Océan, historically celebrated for stitching together the Atlantic façade with the hinterland, now finds itself at the centre of a twenty-first-century logistics vision that merges extractive ambition with industrial aspiration. Officials in Brazzaville underline that the double-digit growth in global steel…

Pointe-Noire sets the stage for a digital leap The industrial pulse of Pointe-Noire quickened on 16 July as SOSEP Groupe SA unfurled Joukwa, a cloud-based marketplace designed to escort Central African enterprises through the labyrinth of cross-border procurement. Framed by cranes overlooking the deep-water port, company officials spoke of a “new grammar for trade” that replaces fragmented phone calls and couriered invoices with a single dashboard. In the audience were shipping agents, representatives of the Chamber of Commerce and a delegation from the Ministry of International Cooperation, whose quiet nods suggested official endorsement without the fanfare of decrees. AfCFTA currents…

Strategic Significance for Central Africa In the discreet yet bustling corridors of francophone economic diplomacy, the decision to relocate the seventh Forum international des entreprises francophones to Brazzaville in May 2026 has been interpreted as a calculated wager on Congo-Brazzaville’s emerging status as a commercial pivot in Central Africa. Observers at the Abidjan gathering last May noted that the choice reflected both geographic logic and political will, given Congo’s central position on the Congo River and its membership in sub-regional blocs such as CEMAC. Commentators from Le Monde Afrique and the Paris-based Institut Prospective et Sécurité en Europe concur that…

Genesis of a Bilateral Financial Instrument The inaugural handshake that birthed the Sino-Congolese Bank for Africa can be traced to President Xi Jinping’s 2013 state visit to Brazzaville, a moment when President Denis Sassou Nguesso openly called for a ‘bank of bridges’ to deepen economic interdependence. Two years later, on 1 July 2015, the institution opened its doors with a shareholding structure combining the Agricultural Bank of China and Congolese public-private investors. The initiative aligned with Beijing’s Belt and Road philosophy and with Congo’s National Development Plan 2022-2026, which earmarks financial inclusion as a cornerstone for industrial diversification. Analysts at…

Diplomatic Spotlight on Housing Finance in Central Africa The arrival of Mr Thierno-Habib Hann in Brazzaville on 7 July 2025 took place beneath the tricolour banners of presidential diplomacy. Congolese protocol accorded the chief of the Nairobi-based Shelter Afrique Development Bank full honours, underscoring the political weight that Brazzaville assigns to the housing dossier. In private conversations, officials close to President Denis Sassou Nguesso framed the visit as a “strategic inflection point” for national urban policy, echoing the administration’s Vision 2025 plan which privileges decent shelter as a pillar of social cohesion (Ministry of Planning, 2024). Strategic Overtures Amid Post-Pandemic…

Ministerial Inspection Highlights Rapid Construction Progress During a mid-July tour of Pointe-Noire, Minister of Sanitation, Local Development and Road Maintenance Juste Désiré Mondélé offered a measured yet unmistakably positive verdict on the twin market projects that have dominated the city’s skyline since 2017. Standing before the concrete shells of the Central Market in Emery Patrice Lumumba District and the Market of Peace in Tié-Tié, he noted a 90 percent execution rate for the flagship site and praised the “unexpected celerity” at its counterpart, underscoring adherence to timelines and technical specifications (Agence Congolaise d’Information, 10 July 2024). Infrastructure and Sanitation Synergy…