Target Agency is amongst the main market research and consulting agencies based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Therefore it is imposed as an essential phase to be used by any company project proponent willing to understand with accuracy his activity sector before launching business. This specialized agency performs an average of fifty researches per year in various sectors of economical field. Interviewed by Optimum on the situation of project initiated in 2016 and 2017, Target’s Managing Director, Serge MUMBU, is deploring a genuine uncertainty climate that prevails amongst foreign and local investors.  

Optimum (O): How do you introduce Target in a few words?  

Serge Mumbu (SM): Target is market research and consulting agency based in DR Congo. We are operating within all the 26 provinces of DR Congo, also in several African countries (Congo Brazzaville, Rwanda, Burundi, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Uganda) thanks to a huge network of external consultants and collaborators (interviewers, supervisors, recruiters, moderators…). We perform about fifty researches per year for various customers: International agencies, multinational companies, International organizations, SMEs, etc…

O: How activities have developed in 2017? 

S.M.: Several fields have been covered by our researches, especially banks, telecoms, media, health, drinks, finances, mass retail and agribusiness. Quantitative, qualitative, documentary studies and even business intelligence have been carried out in 2017 at the initiative of Companies General Management or related organizations. Some studies have been performed in partnership with international agencies in which Target mainly took care of data collection and entry.    

O: As a Company Manager, what is your most current concern in DR Congo economical field, due to direct impact on your activities?    

S.M.: It is the uncertainty and/or observation climate prevailing amongst foreign investors and leaders of big companies and SMEs launched in 2016 – 2017 within investment projects. The tendency is that they mostly prefer keep on observing how political and economic situation will evolve and no one wants to take big risks with big investments or big projects. This has a direct impact on our order book of market researches and we are obliged to diversify our products and expand our business in international field for mitigating risk of breakdown.          

O: What is the impact of crisis affecting the business world on demand of collaboration of contractors with Target?

S.M.: Congolese contractors are complaining about this crisis and difficulty they have when trying to use our services in terms of market researches or consulting in marketing and strategies. We still try to see how to find out collaboration paths, especially in terms of exchange of services. It is very important that contractors should be trained and coached in DR Congo to avoid failures and/or bad decisions. It will be profitable to us when Congolese contractors succeed, since they are our potential future customers.

O: In view of several researches performed for Companies; according to you, what are investment barriers in DR Congo, and how to overcome them in order to positively influence business framework?

S.M.: Investment barriers vary depending on activity sectors and investors’ citizenship. In some sectors for instance (mining, agriculture, process industries…) it is mainly about access to funding sources. Difficult for Congolese people to raise some millions of dollar from local banking organizations. Other sectors such as agriculture victim of legislation that prevents or limits some foreign funds or assets. Some investors are complaining about administrative slowness and/or the fact that they should spend a lot of money to obtain some administrative papers or authorizations to operate. Further, other sectors lack reliable and recent data on their sectors of activities and investors must sometimes grope in the mist as regards estimates and business plan. The solution should be that all structures tasked with making easier investors’ job (ANAPI, single desk, DGM, FPI, etc…) might work with a really concerted means in the framework of investments’ promotion governmental policy with very clear short, middle and long term objectives in partnership with employer organizations (FEC, COPEMECO, chambers of commerce).    

Interviewed by Laurent ESSOLOMWA

This interview of Target – SARL Managing Director has been performed and published in OPTIMUM Magazine.