Brazzaville countdown to RJEA 2025
The banks of the Congo River are set to buzz from 18 to 20 December as Brazzaville stages the inaugural Rencontre des jeunes entrepreneurs d’Afrique, known locally as RJEA. Organisers forecast several hundred participants, counting on the city’s warm energy and growing start-up culture to ignite ideas.
Announced in August by the Collective of Young Congolese Entrepreneurs and confirmed by the Ministry of Youth and Civic Education (Radio Congo, 5 September), the meeting carries the slogan “Entrepreneurship at the heart of African youth”. The phrasing captures a continental appetite for business solutions driven from the ground up.
Brazzaville rises as continental business hub
Hosting RJEA lines up with the capital’s ambition to brand itself as a safe, accessible launchpad for regional commerce. Recent upgrades to Maya-Maya airport and digital payment corridors have already trimmed travel times and transaction costs, drawing praise from the Central African Chamber of Commerce (AAC, 14 September).
“We want visitors to sense that Brazzaville is open, modern and connected,” says event coordinator Grâce Moukala. She notes that a majority of the city’s population is under 35, a demographic reality that makes youth-centred entrepreneurship less a trend than a necessity for inclusive growth.
A dense three-day program
RJEA’s schedule weaves theory with practice. Mornings feature keynote talks by regional economists, including Dr. Jean-Michel Okombi on disruptive financing models, while afternoons pivot to hands-on workshops covering budgeting apps, customer mapping and intellectual-property basics.
Evenings belong to pitch sessions in which founders have five minutes to convince a jury drawn from local banks, micro-credit funds and tech incubators. The best concepts earn seed grants and mentorship slots at Congo-Business Lab, whose director Louisa Diawara will chair the panel (Les Dépêches de Brazzaville, 9 October).
Creating a powerful youth network
Beyond formal learning, the organisers stress community building. Delegates are matched through an algorithm that links complementary skills—coders to designers, agripreneurs to logistics experts—aiming to sow cross-border teams that can survive after the lights dim.
Networking continues off-site with visits to household-name companies such as Brasco and the Maloumé fashion workshops, offering a ground-level view of how local brands export creativity despite supply-chain hurdles. Tours finish with informal Q&A sessions that often stretch long into the night over local dishes.
Practical info and access passes
Three access tiers cater to differing budgets. The Standard badge, priced at 10 000 FCFA, grants entry to all talks. VIP at 25 000 FCFA adds priority seating, a mentoring hour and a city sightseeing pass. VVIP, capped at 100 seats and costing 50 000 FCFA, includes a private dinner with investors and one-on-one legal clinics.
Organisers underline that fees mainly cover logistics; scholarships sponsored by Ecobank and the French-Congo Cooperation Fund have been set aside for applicants from remote departments, ensuring that geography does not block talent. Registration closes on 30 November via a dedicated portal and approved mobile-money platforms.
Long-term impact for Congo and beyond
Economists see RJEA as a strategic lever for job creation. The World Bank’s latest country report highlights that Congo-Brazzaville needs 20 000 new formal jobs a year to match demographic growth; small and medium enterprises are expected to supply most of them.
Government advisers argue that flagship events like RJEA reinforce reforms already under way, from tax incentives for early-stage investors to streamlined company registration. “It is not a one-off showcase,” insists Adviser Léon Oba. “We view it as part of a broader acceleration plan aligned with Horizon 2030.”
Success stories from past regional forums feed optimism. Cameroonian agri-tech start-up Agrowise doubled production after winning a 2022 youth challenge in Douala. RJEA hopes to replicate such trajectories, retaining value inside Africa and highlighting Congolese leadership in that process.
