Governance and Economic Development Sector
Problem: Extreme poverty; lack of capacity to begin and grow sustainable businesses; lack of access to mentors and capital; lack of imagination in private sector; toxic business climate; predatory and complex taxation and regulatory structures, both formal and informal; lack of integration between Christian values and business practices; decline of a middle class; lack of skilled civil servants; ineffective process for implementation of the law; misinformation and confusion about law; corruption, impunity and lack of integrity in Congolese society.
Target Population: Businesspeople needing mentoring and investment and knowledge about markets; business community facing endemic corruption and unclear tax structures; all of CI’s personnel and beneficiaries; unemployed individuals; individuals experiencing market gaps in Beni territory; investors and donors; DRC land and taxation administrators; landowners; squatters; DRC policy makers.
Niche Interventions: Facilitating civil society advocacy and organization for more just, transparent business governance practices for business people at every scale. Developing and deploying technology to improve governance, environmental sustainability, and land conflict prevention. Providing economic mentoring, legal support, capital, and ethical formation for entrepreneurs with viable existing businesses in eastern Congo. Providing market and value chain knowledge to agribusiness actors. Generating enduring local revenue streams to support CI’s continued impact through returns on equity investments in these businesses.
Sector Outcomes:
- By 2020, governance and economic development program staff and beneficiaries will embody transformational community.
- By 2020, land governance interventions expand to engage property taxation agencies and private sector leaders.
- By 2020, land tenure security is effective and transparency has increased in land administration through the implementation of land information system in target zones of North Kivu, South-Kivu and Ituri provinces.
- By 2020, Land administration users report that land use planning, urban planning and rural land development have improved in post conflict areas of North Kivu, South-Kivu and Ituri provinces.
- By 2020, business association established that reflects and supports issues facing business people and provides mentoring for new business start-ups.
- By 2020, 20 entrepreneurs engaged by CI possess sustainable middle class incomes, live out a vision of transformation, and provide significant social benefit to the community.
- By 2020, agribusiness actors have access to accurate and current market and value chain data.
- By 2020, CI receives 5% of its income from management of CI assets and businesses accelerated by CI.