DRC–Kenya: Kenya Week opens in Kinshasa with the ambition of transforming trade into investments
The first edition of Kenya Week and the Golf Tournament opened on Wednesday September 16, 2026 in Kinshasa, with a clearly stated economic objective: to bring Congolese and Kenyan businesses closer together and encourage new business flows between the two countries.
Organized at the Grande Résidence Galerie La Fontaine, in the commune of La Gombe, the event continues until September 20 around trade, investment, tourism and partnerships.
The program combines exhibitions, B2B meetings and panels devoted in particular to tourism, education, financial technologies, health, agriculture and real estate.
At the opening, Moni Manyange, Deputy Head of Mission at the Kenyan Embassy in the DRC, particularly emphasized the economic and human ties that already bring the two countries closer together.
He spoke of the presence of the Kenyan communities in the DRC and the Congolese communities in Kenya, but also the role of businesses and financial institutions in strengthening this relationship.
His intervention also focused on networking and the creation of connections between economic operators. Moni Manyange also intervenes in several sequences this week, in particular as moderator of the panel devoted to tourism and that on fintech.
In the agricultural sector, cooperation could go further than simple trade.
For her part, Lucianne Lutula Shoko, Director of the National Agricultural Extension Center, believes that the DRC could particularly benefit from the Kenyan experience in improved seeds.
She recalls that the country has already obtained supplies from Kenyan companies such as Simlaw Seeds and Kenya Seed to support maize production in particular.
But the ambition would now be to move from imports to local production. “Instead of continuing to import corn or seeds from Kenya, Kenya Seed could establish itself in the DRC,” she argued.
A local establishment would allow the DRC to benefit from a transfer of skills, bring improved seeds closer to farmers and gradually reduce certain agricultural imports.
The subject will be explored in greater detail on September 18 during a panel dedicated specifically to the role of quality seeds in regional agriculture, with the participation of the Managing Director of Simlaw Seeds and Lucianne Lutula Shoko.
Through this first Kenya Week, Kinshasa and Nairobi are seeking to evolve their relations towards partnerships more directly linked to investment, production and exchanges between businesses.
