Kenyan businessman Vimal Shah’s Bidco Africa, 25 others invest $1.6 billion in DRC

According to a recent report by Kenya’s leading financial services group, Equity Group Holdings, 26 Kenyan firms, including Bidco Africa, a multinational consumer goods company led by Kenyan businessman Vimal Shah, have invested KSh184.7 billion ($1.6 billion) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The companies were part of the Kenya delegation that participated in the Kenya-DRC Trade Mission of 2021, which was organized by the Kenyan government, the DRC government, and Equity Group, East and Central Africa’s largest financial services group.

Aside from the Shah-led Bidco Africa, other Kenyan companies that took part in the trade mission included logistics company Rentco Africa, real estate firm Optiven Group, and mattress manufacturer Jumbo Foam.

Others include Kenya Builders & Concrete Co. Ltd., which plans to build a cement manufacturing plant in the country, and Tru Foods Limited, which hopes to build an edible oil manufacturing plant in the DRC.

The move is in line with plans to accelerate the Central African nation’s development following years of hardship and instability caused by wars and political upheaval, as poverty and youth unemployment continue to fuel conflicts in the country.

A three-axis program established by the country’s government is one of the reforms put in place to drive economic growth in the country.

The program aims to protect investors and create a favorable investment climate through legal and security investments, improvements to tax systems to allow goods to flow in and out of the DRC, and access to loans for economic cooperators.

Since Shah’s father, Bhimji Depar Shah, founded Bidco Africa 50 years ago, the company has grown to become a multinational consumer goods company with subsidiaries and distributorships in 17 countries across East Africa, Central Africa and Southern Africa.

The leading group controls more than 40 powerful brands and is one of the largest producers and marketers of consumer goods in East Africa, Central Africa and Southern Africa.