The Democratic Republic of Congo’s telecommunications sector is heading into one of the most consequential gatherings in its history. From 27 to 29 April 2026, the Ministère des Postes et Télécommunications will host the country’s inaugural General Assembly on Posts and Telecommunications, under the high patronage of President Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo and the direct coordination of Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka.
The forum convenes the Head of State, the Prime Minister, government leadership, and the country’s mobile network operators under a single theme: Posts and Telecommunications as a Driver of Economic Growth and Development. Its agenda spans four pillars that go to the heart of the DRC’s connectivity crisis: reducing the digital divide, achieving connectivity across all 145 territories, advancing the country’s digitalisation roadmap to 2030, and reforming the sector’s fiscal base.
With a population of over 110 million people, a GDP of USD 66 billion, and a mobile sector contributing approximately 8% of national GDP, the country represents one of the most consequential and most under-connected digital economies on the continent. The fact that this forum is happening is the direct result of a commitment made at the highest level of the industry, and kept.
From Commitment to Action: The Digital Africa Summit DRC
In September 2025, GSMA in partnership with Invictus Global Media Group, with TechAfrica News as official media partner, hosted the Digital Africa Summit DRC in Kinshasa, bringing together government, regulators, operators, and international partners to examine the structural barriers holding back the DRC’s digital economy.
At that summit, His Excellency José Mpanda Kabangu, Minister of Postal Services, Telecommunications and New Information and Communication Services, made a public commitment to bring the sector’s concerns directly to the President, ensuring that the policy and investment agenda shaped by industry and supported by evidence would reach the country’s highest decision-making table. It was a significant pledge in a country where the sector had never previously secured that level of access.
The General Assembly on Posts and Telecommunications is the delivery of that commitment. It is the first time the DRC’s telecommunications industry has been afforded a formal, structured engagement with the Head of State and Prime Minister, and it represents a structural shift in how the country’s government engages with one of its most strategically important sectors.
What the Evidence Shows
The urgency of this forum is grounded in data. GSMA’s September 2025 report, “Driving Digital Transformation in the DRC: Opportunities, Policy Reforms and the Role of Mobile ,” launched at the Digital Africa Summit DRC and developed in direct collaboration with the Autorité de Régulation de Poste et de Télécommunication (ARPTC, the DRC’s telecoms regulator) and all four operators, sets out the scale of the challenge.
Only around 17% of the DRC’s population currently has access to mobile internet. A coverage gap of 32% means nearly a third of the country lives beyond the reach of broadband networks entirely. Mobile operators spend between 40 and 60% of their operating expenditure on diesel to power network infrastructure, a cost that flows directly through to consumers. The sector carries an effective tax rate of 91% of pre-tax profit, significantly higher than mining at 71% or retail finance at 34%, despite comparable operating margins, spread across more than 50 separate taxes and fees administered by three national revenue authorities and 26 regional entities.
GSMA’s modelling shows that the right policy environment could bring an additional 9.7 million people online by 2029, shrink the mobile broadband usage gap by 8 percentage points, add up to CDF 6,500 billion in mining value and CDF 2,100 billion in agricultural value, and increase net government tax revenues by up to CDF 3,000 billion. The economic case for reform is not a trade-off between sector interests and government revenues. It is a case for investing in the conditions that generate both.
“GSMA commends the Government of the DRC for its commitment to placing telecommunications at the centre of its national development agenda. Convening this forum at this level sends a clear signal to the sector, to investors, and to the continent that the DRC is serious.
The stakes justify that seriousness. With a population of 110 million, and the natural resources, geographic weight, and demographic scale it holds, the DRC is positioned to be a cornerstone of Africa’s digital future. The evidence shows what the right policy environment can deliver: millions more citizens connected, significant economic value unlocked across key sectors, and a stronger, expanding government revenue base. That is the opportunity on the table. GSMA stands as a committed partner, working with the DRC government, industry, and most importantly, for the Congolese people to help realise it.”
– Angela Wamola, Head of Africa, GSMA
The Policy Agenda
GSMA’s report identifies four interconnected areas where policy action would move the needle.
The first is simplifying and reducing the sector’s tax burden, which would add 1.8 million unique mobile broadband users by 2029.
The second is expanding energy access: connecting existing sites within one kilometre of the national grid alone would reduce data prices by 7% and bring an additional 500,000 users online, while coordinated grid extension and the Vodacom-Orange solar joint venture targeting 2,000 new base stations could push 4G coverage from 57% to 87%.
The third is regulatory transparency and stability. Developing a clear, published sector strategy, streamlining the infrastructure permitting process, and fast-tracking the conversion to a universal licensing framework, a process already underway following the milestone unified licence awards of December 2025, would materially improve the investment climate.
The fourth is demand stimulation, centred on device affordability: with the average smartphone selling at USD 305 against a population where over 70% will not pay more than USD 200, reducing handset import duties and expanding device financing are essential levers.
“What distinguishes this forum is that it is not starting from scratch. The DRC has a published evidence base, a clear set of policy recommendations, and a regulator in the ARPTC that has been part of building that case. The task now is to translate that work into binding commitments. GSMA has long advocated for a policy environment in the DRC that enables operators to invest, expand coverage, and make services affordable. This forum is the most direct opportunity yet to make that happen, and we urge all parties to ensure the declaration reflects the substance of the reforms that evidence-informed insights demand for implementing policy and/or regulatory enabling environment measures.”
– Caroline Mbugua, HSC, Senior Director Public Policy and Communications, GSMA
What the Communiqué Must Address
Minister José Mpanda Kabangu has demonstrated that he is a minister who follows through. This is proof of that. But delivering the forum is the beginning, not the end.
The sector is not at the table to only participate in a conversation. It is at the table because the evidence, developed collaboratively with the government, demonstrates that the right policy decisions would fundamentally reshape the country’s digital economy, its fiscal position, and its development trajectory. The communiqué that closes this forum must reflect that evidence. It must move beyond statements of principle and commit to the specific policy reforms that the data supports.
GSMA has published the analysis. The minister brought the sector to the President. The President has agreed to the meeting. What is needed now is a declaration that translates that alignment into action.
