Competitive Challenges of the Democratic Republic of Congo Companies in the face of African Continental Free Trade Area Agreements

The trade opening constitutes, at the meantime, great opportunities and enormous challenges for home enterprises. When enterprises of countries concerned are not sufficiently prepared, local populations are more attracted by products from foreign enterprises that easily supply the local market with goods and services in quantity and sometimes in quality and in affordable prices an environment that can easily asphyxiate local enterprises. The enterprises of the North-Kivu province, in D.R.C., seem to run this risk due to the effectiveness of agreements of the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA). This province comprises enterprises, of which more than 79 percent are commercial, a fact which is not economically good since these are brokers of foreign enterprises which do not directly afford to reach the Congolese market. In fact, Congolese enterprises are protected by an environmental discomfort that prevents the foreign enterprises to reach, with serenity, the Congolese market. This constitutes an ephemeral advantage because the effectiveness of these agreements should provide all enterprises with the same privileges. In such a situation, the Congolese business, to update its competitiveness in free trade, must sharpen its competitive strategies. Henceforth, the government must establish responsible and coercive measures and mechanisms that can promote production and innovation enterprises, or R.D.C. risks to serve as a market for other countries, members of the agreement, and have its national business asphyxiated.