By Jean-Pierre A.
The World Bank has released a sharply critical report on state-owned enterprises in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), warning that many of the country’s state firms have become a drag on the economy despite operating in one of the world’s richest mineral markets.
Yet these enterprises remain central to the DRC’s growth, exports, and broader economic activity.
The financial institution also highlights the difficulties faced by SNEL – the electricity provider – and REGIDESO – the water utility.
The DRC is experiencing growth that exceeds the sub-Saharan African average, driven by the mining sector, says the World Bank. However, in its report on the country’s economic situation published in March 2026, the Bretton wood institution, paints a grim picture of Congolese state-owned enterprises: massive financial losses, rising debt, poor governance and ageing infrastructure.
According to the global financial institution, these weaknesses no longer concern only the enterprises themselves. They are weighing on the state’s finances, the economy’s competitiveness and the living conditions of the population.
Between 2014 and 2023, Congolese state-owned enterprises accumulated losses of around $5.3 billion, or more than $500 million a year – a figure the World Bank puts into stark perspective: it is almost equivalent to the DRC’s annual health budget.
More than two-thirds of the companies for which data is available reported losses in 2023. In the energy, transport and water sectors, SNEL, RVA, SNCC, ONATRA and REGIDESO are the most exposed.
The rising debt is threatening public finances. The debt of these companies has risen from 5.7 percent of GDP in 2019 to 7.3 percent in 2023. It now accounts for around 42 percent of the DRC’s external public debt. A total default by the eleven main state-owned enterprises would cost the Treasury around $179 million in a single year. SNEL alone accounts for 75 percent of this debt.
Cash flow difficulties are chronic: some receivables remain unpaid for nearly four years, and payment terms for creditors can exceed three years. As a result, several companies borrow not to invest, but to cover their liquidity shortfalls.
The World Bank describes politicised boards of directors, appointments made without regard to competence, and oversight fragmented across several institutions. In 2024, only ten of the twenty largest state-owned enterprises published their financial statements. Over the last five years, only five have done so regularly.
Electricity and water: theoretical abundance, real scarcity
The DRC utilises only 3.2 percent of its installed hydroelectric capacity. Only 22 percent of the population has access to the electricity grid. SNEL records 37 percent technical losses on its generation. Power cuts are a constant feature, and costs for businesses are high.
In the water sector, REGIDESO covers only 16 percent of the population. In rural and semi-urban areas, access to drinking water remains below 14 percent. By 2024, around 40 percent of the water produced will not reach users.
The Congolese economy relies on mining. In 2025, copper exports exceeded 3.4 million tonnes, yet the state-owned mining companies themselves are in a precarious position.
At MIBA [ a diamond company ] , payroll costs account for 137 percent of turnover. Gécamines accounts for around 16 percent of the total debt of state-owned enterprises, even though it recorded the highest profit among the companies surveyed.
The World Bank is calling for clarification of the state’s role as a shareholder, merit-based appointments, genuine financial transparency and a reduction in political interference.
The institution puts a figure on what is at stake: effective reforms could boost the DRC’s potential growth by around two percentage points above current projections. The cost of inaction is now being laid bare.
