Women Entrepreneurs in DR Congo are Driving Change in their Communities

“Across Kikwit, women are transforming challenges into opportunities: turning onions into income, fabrics into fashion, and local technology into lasting change. In doing so, they are not just building businesses; they are shaping a future where empowerment is homegrown and unstoppable.”
-Badylon Kawanda Bakiman, Journalist / DR Congo

Women entrepreneurs are often catalysts for the empowerment of everyone in their orbit. The economic enfranchisement of women founders is just one of many benefits in the domino effect of their entrepreneurship. When woman forge a new path, they bring everyone with them. Over the last ten years, wegg®’s expertise has played a vital role in incubating enterprises that promote the financial independence and prowess of women everywhere. It is always awe-inspiring to bear witness to like-minded efforts taking shape across the globe.

Badylon Kawanda Bakiman describes a current instance of such a positive chain reaction in the DR Congo for Africa.com,

“In the heart of Kikwit, a bustling town in Kwilu province, southwest Democratic Republic of Congo, a quiet revolution is reshaping women’s futures. Here, women are harnessing the power of entrepreneurship and appropriate technology to build livelihoods, create jobs, and inspire the next generation—earning praise from human rights defenders and community leaders alike.”

Women owned businesses, on both the local level and global stage, possess a built-in forethought of how to ensure the well-being of as many future generations as possible. One example of this in the Lukolela commune is, “Mireille Mpoko, 22, runs her own sewing workshop. Her creations, tailored with precision and flair, draw customers from across town. She often trains young girls eager to learn the craft.”

Carrying this same torch for her society is agricultural entrepreneur Myriam Mupepe, who, “In 2019, founded Organisation rurale pour le développement intégral (ORDI), an enterprise that employs five people and operates as both a commercial onion farm and an agricultural school. Every worker in her team is paid according to production, a system that empowers them to support their families.”

wegg is thrilled to read about women far and wide who are taking the reigns of their life and bettering both the present and futures of those around them.