First mission to support SMEs/VSEs in the forestry-wood sector in the DRC

24.09.2021

As part of the implementation of the ADEFAC project activities, conducted by RIFFEAC and ATIBT, a team of consultants visited the DRC from August 23 to September 15, 2021. This mission specifically targeted SMEs/VSEs in the secondary wood processing sector, with industrial enterprises in the sector being the subject of a separate approach.

The objective of this mission was to :

Define a system allowing SMEs/VSEs in the wood sector to benefit from continuous training adapted to their needs
Identify and mobilize professional organizations (PO) wishing to play a role in this system
Train the permanent staff of these POs to the diagnosis of the company, and thus to allow them to identify the needs in continuous training.

The leaders of the POs were mobilized to position themselves as actors in continuing education, and the people who were to benefit from the first "Continuing Education Prescriber" training were designated and trained over 3 days.

The diagnosis of the companies shows a very low level of structuring. The needs in terms of know-how are very basic: organization of the workshop, choice and purchase of adapted equipment (portable), sharpening and maintenance of tools, improvement approach, acquisition of quality supplies, listening to market evolutions, setting up a financing file.

The Ministry of Entrepreneurship and SMEs (MEPME) in the DRC recently launched a support program for the sector with the priority objective of accompanying these businesses towards formalization. Under the auspices of this program, the carpenter-cabinetmakers of Kinshasa are forming associations. This initiative is an opportunity for ADEFAC to accelerate the structuring of the sector and thus to facilitate the implementation of this continuous training program.