Democratic Republic of Congo: Operating a Business

Setting Up a Company

Limited Liability Company (LLC/SARL): Number of partners: minimum one shareholder and one director, which may not be resident in the country
Capital (max/min): no minimum share capital
Shareholders and liability: liability is limited to the shares
Public Limited Company (SA): Number of partners: minimum three shareholders and three directors, of any nationality
Capital (max/min): XAF 10 million (and XAF 100 million for companies who make public offerings)
Shareholders and liability: liability is limited to the extent of the shareholders contributions
Simplified Joint Stock Company (SAS): Number of partners: minimum one shareholder and director, of any nationality.
Capital (max/min): XAF 10 million
Shareholders and liability: liability is limited to the shares
Société en Commandite Simple (SCS): Number of partners: minimum one with limited liability and one with unlimited liability
Capital (max/min): no minimum share capital
Shareholders and liability: limited partners who do not participate in management have limited liability. However, general partners or managing partners have joint and unlimited liability

Setting Up a Company	Democratic Republic of Congo	Sub-Saharan Africa
Procedures (number)	4.0	7.5
Time (days)	7.0	21.3

Source: Doing Business.

Business Setup Procedures: Consult Doing Business Website, to know about procedures to start a Business in Democratic Republic of Congo.

	2018	2019	2020
Labour Force	28,829,039	29,801,894	29,797,897

Source: International Labour Organization, ILOSTAT database

Source: International Labour Organization, ILOSTAT database

Legal Weekly Duration: Maximum eight hours per day, or 40 hours per week (art. 100 of the Labour Code).
Retirement Age: The retirement age is as follows: 65 for men, 60 for women, or 55 for prematurely aged men and women with at least 60 months of coverage in the last 10 years.
Working Contracts: Working contracts can be either verbal or in writing (art. 4 of the Labour Code of 1967).
Labour Laws: Consult Doing Business Website, to obtain a summary of the labor regulations that apply to local entreprises. Labour Code no. 67/310 of 1967 (in French)

Minimum Wage: From January 2019, the interprofessional guaranteed minimum wage (salaire minimum interprofessionnel garanti - SMIG) is CDF 7.075/day
Average Wage: Around USD 432 per year (data by the World Bank)
Social Contributions: Social Security Contributions Paid By Employers: 9% for the national insurance fund (INSS)
1% to 3% for professional training (INPP)
0.2% for the national office of employment (ONEM)
Social Security Contributions Paid By Employees: Social and employment contributions are as follows:
- National insurance fund (Institut National de Sécurité Sociale or INSS): 3.5% for the employees' share (withheld at source by the employer) and 9% for the employer.
- National office for professional training (Institut National de Préparation Professionnelle or INPP): paid only by the employer at different rates:
    3% for state-owned companies and private companies with up to 50 employees
    2% for private companies with 51 to 300 employees
    1% for private companies with over 300 employees
- National employment Office (Office National de l’Emploi or ONEM): paid only by the employer at 0.2%.

Social Dialogue and Involvement of Social Partners: According to art. 38 of the Constitution, freedom to form labor unions is recognized and guaranteed, in line with conditions set by the law. However, government employees and members of state security forces are not permitted to unionize. It is formally against the law for employers to retaliate against strikers; nevertheless, it has been reported that some syndicate leaders and activists can be subject to harassment.
Labour Unions: Unions Confederation of Congo (Confédération syndicale du Congo - CSC)
Unionisation Rate: There are no reliable data concerning the unionisation rate in the DRC.
Labour Regulation Bodies: Ministry for Employment, Labour and Social Security (Fb public page)

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