Local content in the DRC: what the new law changes for your business, and the implementing texts still awaited
On 30 June 2026, the President of the Republic promulgated Law No. 26/018 on Local Content, published in the Official Gazette on 8 July 2026. Long awaited since the commitment made in 2023, this text profoundly reshapes the rules applicable to every business operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo — Congolese or foreign, public or private, regardless of sector. Its entry into force, expected around 30 December 2026, leaves businesses six months to prepare, while at least fourteen decrees and implementing orders, essential to its practical implementation, remain unpublished to date.
A cross-cutting law, applicable to every business
The DRC has considerable economic potential, but the participation of majority nationally-owned businesses remains, according to the law's explanatory statement, insufficient or even marginal in several strategic segments of economic activity. The Local Content law is meant to correct this weakness, in pursuit of a threefold ambition: economic sovereignty, structural transformation of the national economy, and inclusive development.
Article 2 of the law provides that "all businesses, whatever their sector of activity, are subject to the provisions of this Law." It covers all projects financed by public resources, projects carried out by private operators, public-private partnerships, and private-sector investments in the DRC. Unlike many other African countries with local content regimes, often limited to extractive industries, the Congolese text covers the entire productive economy — from retail trade to infrastructure, through services, healthcare, media and tourism.
Two distinct regimes not to be confused
This is, in our view, the law's most important point of caution: two obligations, of a different nature and scope, coexist and are frequently confused.
The public procurement "exclusive zone" (Article 14) applies to ministries, public enterprises and establishments, mixed-economy companies, and the State, provinces and decentralized territorial entities. These entities must reserve each year, for businesses with Congolese capital and management, a minimum share of 51% of their public contracts, procurement and public-private partnerships — measured both in financial volume and number of contracts. This obligation concerns only public procurement as such.
The mandatory share-capital participation (Articles 22 to 24), by contrast, applies — absent specific sector legislation to the contrary — to every private-sector business, regardless of any contract with the State. It consists of opening a minimum share of the share capital to individuals of Congolese nationality, at a rate that varies by sector, plus a share generally set at 5% reserved for the company's own workers.
"An entirely private company, with no link to public procurement, nonetheless remains subject to the obligation to open its capital if it falls within the scope of Article 22."
Capital participation thresholds, by sector of activity
The table below sets out, sector by sector, the minimum thresholds set by Article 22 of the law.
| Sector of activity | Min. Congolese share | Workers' share |
|---|---|---|
| Hydrocarbons (oil, gas) | 8% | 5% |
| Manufacturing (general) | 20% | 5% |
| Food and beverages | 25% | 5% |
| Textiles, apparel, leather | 20% | 5% |
| Wood, paper, cardboard, printing | 20% | 5% |
| Chemicals and pharmaceuticals | 20% | 5% |
| Rubber and plastics | 20% | 5% |
| Metallurgy and metal products | 20% | 5% |
| Machinery and equipment manufacturing | 20% | 5% |
| Automotive and transport equipment | 20% | 5% |
| Electronics, IT, optics | 20% | 5% |
| Furniture and miscellaneous goods (toys, jewelry) | 26% | 5% |
| Tobacco and derivatives | 26% | 5% |
| Electrical / electronic / household equipment | 25% | 5% |
| Energy (production, transmission, distribution, renewables) | 26% | 5% |
| Cement | 25% | 5% |
| Construction materials | 26% | 5% |
| Craft trades (boilermaking, artisan trades) | 30% | 5% |
| Farming | 30% | 5% |
| Air transport | 20% | n.s. |
| Land transport | 25% | n.s. |
| Maritime transport | 25% | n.s. |
| Infrastructure and construction (roads, ports, airports) | 20% | — |
| Water | 26% | 5% |
| Tourism and hospitality | 26% | 5% |
| Forestry, fisheries, livestock | 51% | 5% |
| Healthcare | 20% | 5% |
| Media, advertising, marketing | 51% | 5% |
| Trade (general) | 25% | 5% |
| Small retail (wholesale/retail) | 100% | — |
Source: Article 22 of Law No. 26/018. "n.s.": the text does not specify a rate for workers in this sub-sector. "—": no distinct workers' share is provided for.
Employment, training and technology transfer
Co-contractors, subcontractors, service providers and suppliers must give hiring priority to Congolese personnel where they have the required skills. Unskilled jobs will be reserved exclusively for Congolese nationals, with priority given to residents of the local communities concerned. For skilled jobs and management positions, each Local Content plan must set out the measures taken to reserve, within 3 years, at least 80% of jobs and positions for Congolese nationals.
Every foreign business operating in a strategic sector must also submit to the Regulatory Authority a technology transfer plan — technologies concerned, skills to be transferred, beneficiaries, timelines, performance indicators. Public and private contracts above a value threshold to be set by regulation must mandatorily include a technology transfer and local capacity-building component.
Finally, every business must give sourcing priority to goods and services produced, manufactured or processed on national territory, once they appear on a list established by the competent authority; recourse to the foreign market will only remain possible in the event of demonstrated unavailability, subject to a waiver. Large retail outlets, for their part, will be required to reserve significant space for the display and sale of local products.
Implementation timeline
The law was promulgated on 30 June 2026 and published in the Official Gazette on 8 July 2026. Its entry into force is set for six months after promulgation, around 30 December 2026 (Article 40).
The public procurement "exclusive zone" quota is phased in progressively: 25% in the first budget year following entry into force, then 51% from the second year onward (Article 38). For employment, the 80% quota for skilled and management positions must be reached within 3 years (Article 15). The law, however, sets no explicit transitional deadline at this stage for compliance with the share-capital participation obligation — this point should be clarified by the implementing decree announced at Article 24.
The sanctions regime
The law establishes a sanctions regime that is both administrative and criminal. Breaches are recorded by officers of the Local Content Regulatory Authority, vested with limited judicial police officer status; proceedings are initiated 15 working days after a formal notice has gone unheeded.
| Breach | Sanction incurred |
|---|---|
| Failure to submit the three-year plan, or false statements | 500M to 1Bn FC (doubled on repeat offense) |
| Failure to submit the annual implementation report | 100 to 200M FC (50 to 100M FC if late; doubled on repeat) |
| Total non-execution of the approved three-year plan | 500M to 1Bn FC (doubled on repeat offense) |
| Partial execution of the approved three-year plan | 200 to 500M FC (doubled on repeat offense) |
| Failure to open share capital / Congolese participation in staff | Formal notice, sealing, temporary closure or sanctions against directors, then a fine of 1 to 2Bn FC |
| Non-compliance with the 51% “exclusive zone” quota (art. 14) | Graduated procedure against the CEO: warning, bonus suspension, temporary suspension (max. 6 months), removal; repeat non-compliance over 2 fiscal years = management fault engaging the CEO's personal liability |
| Regulatory Authority officer in conflict of interest or corrupt | 5 years' imprisonment + 100 to 300M FC |
FC: constant Congolese francs.
Incentive measures and financing opportunities
The law is not limited to a binding framework. Businesses that meet the requirements of the national Local Content plan may benefit from tax and quasi-tax exemptions and relief, as well as administrative waivers and facilities.
A National Local Content Promotion Fund (FNPCL) is established to finance Congolese capital-building, training, research and development, and the creation of "national champions." The law also provides support for creating investment banks with majority Congolese capital, measures to promote franchising and mentoring for SMEs, and a strategy for formalizing the informal economy.
What remains to be clarified: the awaited implementing texts
A key point of attention: Law No. 26/018, as promulgated, delegates to numerous decrees of the Prime Minister and orders — ministerial or interministerial — the task of clarifying its practical modalities of application. As of this analysis, none of these texts has come to our attention as published. At least fourteen decrees and orders are announced by the text, covering in particular coordination between the ARSP and the ARMP, the modalities of the three-year plan, the list of public enterprises concerned by the "exclusive zone," the safeguards surrounding the opening of share capital, eligibility conditions for the National Fund, and the modalities of the incentive measures.
Until these texts are published, several of the law's obligations — notably the precise modalities for allocating public contracts, eligibility conditions for the National Fund, or the safeguards surrounding the opening of share capital — cannot be implemented with full legal certainty. KMC Advice & Partners is monitoring the publication of these texts with the competent authorities and will send its clients a supplementary note as soon as they are published, with an analysis of their practical implications.
Our immediate practical recommendations
Notwithstanding the wait for these implementing texts, and given the six-month period before entry into force, we recommend that our clients begin without delay: a compliance diagnostic to identify, for each group entity operating in the DRC, the sector of activity concerned and the applicable capital-participation rate; a review of the current ownership and governance structure against the legal definition of a "Congolese-capital business" (Article 3.16); for wholly foreign-owned single-member companies, an early review of a possible change in legal form, as permitted by the law; mapping ongoing contracts with the State, public enterprises or public establishments, to anticipate the impact of the 51% "exclusive zone"; and beginning to structure a three-year Local Content plan — employment, training, technology transfer, local sourcing — even before entry into force, to have a solid base ready once submission windows open.
Our Firm remains at your disposal to carry out a personalized compliance diagnostic, support you in preparing your three-year plan, and monitor the implementing texts as they are published.
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