DRC economic and labor market reforms

The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Suminwa II Government has initiated a series of economic reforms focused on domestic production, trade modernization, and labor market restructuring.

Initial efforts centered on protecting local industries through safeguard measures for 17 products, such as cement and mining coal, to prevent dumping. The government also prioritized agricultural revitalization to reduce food import dependency, targeting sectors like rice and maize production. International trade efforts included ratifying the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement and securing new agreements with the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.

Subsequent developments expanded these reforms into the labor and entrepreneurship sectors. The government announced the digitalization of the National Employment Office (ONEM) to improve job seeker accessibility and mandated that job offers be processed through the agency. To foster youth employment, the ‘three Cs’ strategy—capacitation, credit, and contract—was introduced to support entrepreneurship through training, financial guarantees, and market access. Additionally, a policy was established to reserve up to 40% of public contracts for Congolese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).