On October 17, 2025, TradeMark Africa (TMA) and The Federation of Enterprises of Congo (FEC) announced a partnership aimed at enhancing TMA’s digital trade information platform and fostering logistics dialogue in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
This initiative is set to facilitate exchanges between Congolese economic actors and their Central African counterparts, while also working to cut costs and reduce delays in freight transport, particularly along the DRC-Zambia corridor. Funded by the U.K. International Development through the British government, the agreement is effective until March 2026 and aims to improve access for Congolese traders—especially women and youth—to reliable, real-time commercial data.
Small traders in Haut-Katanga are expected to be key beneficiaries of this initiative, which will equip them with new digital tools to boost their competitiveness in regional markets. The agreement builds on TMA’s successful track record in East Africa, where, according to the 2024 report “Making Trade Work for Women in East Africa,” the platform has linked over 95,000 traders—90% of whom are women—in Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda to new buyers and markets, leading to an average 70% increase in annual sales.
As a non-profit organization, TradeMark Africa is dedicated to promoting inclusive trade and sustainable economic growth across the continent. In the DRC, it backs multiple initiatives geared towards modernizing logistics infrastructure, advancing the digitalization of trade, and facilitating cross-border commerce. TMA is also involved in several infrastructure projects throughout the country, including the construction of One-Stop Border Posts in Mahagi (Ituri) and Ruzizi, as well as the Kalundu port in South Kivu, all aimed at streamlining regional trade flows.
