Blaise Mbatshi

TBY talks to Blaise Mbatshi, Managing Partner of BDO DRC, about recent acquisitions, the company’s client portfolio, and projects in the pipeline.

BDO entered the DRC by acquiring BMCG-Management Consultants. What made BMCG and the DRC so appealing to a multinational consulting firm like BDO?

BDO officially arrived in the DRC on October 1, 2024 after acquiring BMCG-Management Consultants, which I founded 10 years ago. In the last decade, BMCG has served the Congolese economic landscape by offering accounting, tax advisory, and management consulting services. During this time, we built a solid client base across various sectors of the economy, including telecommunications, banking, construction, entertainment, mining, and healthcare. When BDO entered, it gained insight into almost every sector and now has a comprehensive view of the Congolese economy and how it operates. BDO recognizes the opportunities in the DRC and wanted to establish a presence in the DRC by leveraging an existing firm that had market knowledge, a client base, understanding of market trends, and skilled personnel to provide value to international clients. The DRC is a complex market that is rapidly evolving. While it is true that the country is vast, and things do not move as quickly as one would like, progress is being made. BDO understands this. In the mining sector, we see mines that are becoming more productive, new mines coming into operation, as well as those that were not producing a few years ago. For example, production of gold is accelerating significantly, and earlier in 2024 GECAMINES had announced the launch of germanium exports. We definitely see new prospects in the industrial and mining sectors, which naturally creates opportunities for professional services. This is the first opportunity that BDO wanted to seize. Second, our profession, namely accounting, is becoming more professional in the country. The National Order of Chartered Accountants (ONEC) was established in 2015 to regulate and oversee the accounting profession. ONEC has about 450 licensed accountants across the country, with half of them based in Kinshasa. In the coming years, we expect to see an increasing number of accountants, and the profession will become more organized. We expect ONEC to continue to establish more accounting and auditing standards locally, resulting in a more structured profession and a more conducive environment for firms such as BDO to operate in—something that was not the case a few years ago.

BDO’s portfolio of clients covers nearly every sector. What particular trends have you noticed?

Our portfolio is fairly balanced. No one sector stands out more than the others, though the majority of our main clients are in financial services, energy, utilities, construction, and telecommunications. The trends that we see are that clients want more insights from their service providers through the use of technology, data analytics including artificial intelligence, machine learning and that is where BDO can bring cutting edge skills to the market.

BDO has a diverse approach, unlike other consultancies that focus heavily on banks or mining. Why is that?

That stems from BMCG’s history. Beyond just doing business, we believe our mission is to help strengthen the Congolese economy, which is why we chose to focus on supporting all sectors and all sizes of businesses. As companies grow, they face increasing accounting challenges and need to comply with tax regulations and improve corporate governance. With the support from BDO resources, we can also pursue large banking and mining clients.

Does BDO also work with farmers or in other industrial sectors?

We have conducted a few missions in these sectors in DRC, including a study of the Packaging and Labeling industry in the Value Chain of Agricultural Products and a study regarding self-sufficiency in egg and poultry production in Kinshasa and its surrounding areas. However, agriculture as a sector faces two significant challenges that need to be addressed. First, investment is crucial for productive agriculture; the sector requires mechanization and automation, which need capital; however, there needs to be a conducive framework in place to enable funding. Second, there is the challenge of transporting products. Even if the country produces large-scale farmers, how can they get the produce out to consumption centers? There is currently a gap between production and consumption, which includes the need for infrastructure. This is an area that the DRC must work on before agriculture can genuinely develop further. BDO has worked in creating successful access to finance and access to markets projects in the region and some of the cross learnings can help DRC. Moreover, on a green perspective, BDO’s DRC partners are the auditors for two government entities related to the environment. I was appointed by the government as the auditor for the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation, and our Audit Partner audits the National Forestry Fund. We aim to increase our involvement because we believe in the importance of environmental issues and biodiversity conservation. We think that in the coming years, the environment sector will attract more innovative financing which can lead to more projects and funding opportunities.

There are currently legal and investment frameworks in place for international investors. What else does the DRC require to receive a steady supply of FDI?

I believe there are two things are missing: clarity and effective implementation. It is great that the country has an investment code and legal framework; however, when there are hundreds of taxes to navigate, it becomes daunting for investors. Even though there are tax exemptions for investors, other taxes remain, complicating the landscape. Investors arrive and face a multitude of taxes and administrative challenges, which makes it hard to see the full picture. Each year, the finance law changes, which can also affect tax planning. Investors often find themselves burdened by taxes and various bureaucracy, which detracts from focusing on their business. The second issue is the effectiveness of implementation—decisions made at the top often do not filter down effectively to the administration level. Communication and training for administration clerks need improvement in order to make them more aware that rapidity in execution is the cornerstone if we want to build a better climate for business. Even if favorable laws exist, the efficiency of the administration in applying them is crucial.

What significant projects BDO has been involved in, and what does it have in the pipeline?

We are working on about 30 major projects. Our recent projects include a restructuring of a telecommunications company as well as the establishment of MULTIPAY SA together with four of the main banks in the country. In the latter case, we facilitated the legal structuring and advised on the company’s formation. With the aim of operating an interbank electronic payment platform, the 4 Banks had decided to form an economic interest group, though that structure posed challenges, particularly regarding taxation. Even though the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA) allows for such arrangements, the Congolese tax system was not suitable for such as entity at that time. Consequently, BMCG (Now BDO DRC) came in and advised MULTIPAY to become a joint-stock company with a board of directors. This not only simplified the tax situation, as joint-stock companies are already recognized by the tax authorities, but also provided a governance structure that could better manage strategic decisions among the banks.