The DRC Mining Week in Lubumbashi has attracted the South Africa’s Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) to host a South African pavilion at the event.
Participation at the event scheduled for the 14th to 16th June, of the South African delegation will comprise companies providing the latest mining technologies, engineering, equipment, services and technical skills.
“It is exciting in the sense that it gives opportunities to small- and medium-sized companies to get exposure for their new and innovative products and services,” said Siphamandla Kumkani, Trade and Investment Representative at the South African Department of Trade, Industry and Competition.
Last year, the DTIC sponsored 22 companies to showcase their offerings at the event, which is the largest in the Copperbelt and surrounding regions.
The department reported that the companies had expressed great satisfaction with the productive engagements at the expo with potential clients and partners, and they had acquired deals and secured sales onsite.
“The DRC is an important mining country with a huge market for South African companies.
“This gives them opportunities to showcase, convene business-to-business meetings and establish long-lasting relationships beyond DRC Mining Week, which enables them to generate revenue and create the required jobs in South Africa,” said Kumkani.
Meanwhile Patricia Kazaka, Event Manager DRC Mining Week at the VUKA Group, the organisers of the event for the past 18 years said: “The technical know-how, experience and specialist knowledge of our South African exhibitors are in great demand across the mining landscape on the continent, and in the DRC in the particular, as it is fast becoming a key mining destination as the world’s largest producer of cobalt” says
“And let’s not forget, both countries have mining in their blood,” she adds, “they are passionate, ambitious and ready to do business.”
Last year, DRC Mining Week attracted nearly 7000 mining professionals in a record-breaking return to Lubumbashi after the Covid pandemic.
However, the DTIC also views the event as great exposure for South African mining exporters to opportunities not only in the DRC, but also in the Central and Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.
“This way we strengthen our economies and promote much-needed economic growth and employment in the spirit of the African Continental Free Trade Area,” said Kazaka.
