Five Months After, Congolese Senate Approves Startup Bill

A bill granting the startup label to technological and digital startups in the Congo has been approved by the country’s Senate. The bill was passed during the ordinary session of the parliament in Brazzaville. The Congolese government authorised this bill five months before its adoption. The Congolese upper house approved the bill, after the second reading. 

Juste-Léon Ibombo, minister of communications
Juste-Léon Ibombo, minister of communications

The national digitalization plan “Vision Congo digital 2025” includes the implementation of this law. An extensive programme was made under the bill to promote the growth of the digital economy in this nation.

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The passing of this bill is timely, according to Juste-Léon Ibombo, minister of communications, post, and the digital economy. Therefore, he hopes, it will guarantee “the protection of startups in order to stimulate their emergence.” “To allow startups and young entrepreneurs to create wealth and added value to the nation’s economy is the government’s commitment under this law,” he added. 

On a digital level, the Congo, located in Central Africa, stands out. Since 2015, this country has seen an increase in the number of start-ups in fintech, e-commerce, e-health, and agritech. According to Partech’s “2021 Africa tech venture capital” study, the Congolese start-up ecosystem raised one million dollars in 2021 from investment funds and other venture capital firms. As previously stated, the government adopted this law in March. Its involvement in local startups is intended to enable their access to financial and legal benefits, thereby contributing to their growth.

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The bill awaits final presidential assent to become fully operative

Startup Bill Act Congo Startup Bill Act Congo

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert. 
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh