Brazzaville Gears Up for Vox Éco Forum 2025
The banks of the Congo River are already buzzing ahead of November 13, 2025, the date set for the third edition of the Vox Éco Forum, a high-level political and economic summit created by the economic magazine VoxMag.
Government ministers, financial CEOs, and startups will share the same stage at the convention center, united by a common theme: how to move the Congolese economy beyond its historical dependence on crude oil and build resilience capable of withstanding price shocks.
Diversification at the Heart of the National Agenda
According to the draft agenda, the plenary panels will review the key milestones of the current National Development Plan, whose diversification pillar aims to raise non-oil sectors to at least half of GDP by 2030, a goal consistently supported by President Denis Sassou Nguesso.
For now, oil still provides about 60 percent of public revenue, the organizers concede, but they present this statistic as the strongest argument for immediate change rather than a cause for pessimism.
Key sessions will explore agriculture, tourism, forestry value chains, and the digital economy—sectors deemed capable of absorbing youth employment pressure while boosting export earnings and food security, provided they receive the right mix of policies and financing tools.
L’Archer’s Financial Power on Display
Supporting the forum is L’Archer, a Central African financial group that claims to have mobilized over 2,500 billion CFA francs in five years, channeled into infrastructure, SMEs, and social projects across the region.
CEO Marcel Obonga insists that the conglomerate’s track record positions it to “blend classic banking with venture capital so that promising Congolese ideas don’t remain at the prototype stage.” His remarks reflect L’Archer’s public commitment to creating thousands of skilled jobs by 2028.
Entrepreneurs Seek Capital and Certainty
Entrepreneurs from Pointe-Noire to Ouesso thus see the forum as a rare opportunity to pitch projects directly to banks, insurers, and sovereign wealth funds without having to travel to Paris or Dubai.
Startup founder Clarisse Bemba, who develops mobile payment solutions for informal merchants, says she hopes to leave Brazzaville with “not only term sheet signatures but also mentors capable of navigating local compliance in real-time.”
Dedicated diaspora panels will examine how remittances, estimated by the central bank at nearly $200 million last year, could be securitized into blended finance vehicles that de-risk public-private projects in renewable energy and agro-processing.
Pathway to Resilient Prosperity
The Ministry of Economy is preparing a progress report to be released during the gathering, linking the forum’s recommendations to ongoing reforms such as the one-stop shop for business registration and the imminent update to the investment code.
Observers expect officials to cite early successes: average business registration times have dropped from 30 to 7 days, and tax filing can already be completed online in Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire—a change praised by chambers of commerce.
Yet, speakers are unlikely to