Congo: The Congolese Shippers’ Council seals strategic alliance with ANA, UNOC and CCEC to strengthen the logistics chain
The Congolese Shippers’ Council (CSC) is reinforcing its role as a key pillar of the national logistics system. On April 21, 2026, the institution signed three partnership agreements with the National Agency for Handicrafts (ANA), the National Union of Economic Operators of Congo (UNOC), and the Congress of Congolese Business Leaders (CCEC).
The objective is clear: better integrate economic actors, streamline trade flows, and reduce logistics costs in a still-constrained environment.
A move toward greater integration of economic actors
These agreements reflect a more structured approach by the CSC, which is seeking to move beyond its traditional role and position itself as a cross-functional facilitator of the logistics chain and foreign trade.
In a context where logistics inefficiencies continue to weigh on competitiveness, the strategy is to break down silos between public and private stakeholders and unlock operational synergies. The CSC is betting on partnerships and collective intelligence to address multimodal transport and logistics challenges.
During the signing ceremony, attended by a strong turnout of economic operators and artisans, CSC Director General Dominique Candide Fabrice Koumou Boulas emphasized that these agreements are designed as operational tools aimed at improving flow efficiency, optimizing costs, and supporting local production.
Tailored objectives for each partner
Each agreement targets specific priorities:
- With ANA: structuring the handicraft sector and facilitating access to markets—especially exports—through improved logistics support.
- With UNOC: strengthening the integration of private sector needs into logistics frameworks and establishing a more direct dialogue with the CCC.
- With CCEC: enhancing business competitiveness by addressing logistics costs and strengthening managerial capacities.
For ANA, the immediate challenge is to enable artisans to access more reliable and structured logistics services—an essential condition for scaling and exporting their products.
For UNOC, the agreement is expected to better reflect field-level constraints in logistics policies and reinforce the role of private operators in public-private dialogue.
CCEC, for its part, is focusing on competitiveness, with logistics costs in Congo reaching up to 30% of total production costs for some businesses.
A lever to reduce costs and structure flows
Beyond intent, the agreements focus on concrete operational priorities:
- reducing port handling and transit costs
- improving logistics lead times
- better structuring export flows
- providing technical support to operators
The CSC also aims to expand its base of shippers, promote Congolese cargo, and support export diversification beyond hydrocarbons.
In return, partner organizations commit to relaying field-level challenges, promoting CSC tools among their members, and contributing to performance studies on logistics costs, port transit times, and corridor competitiveness.
Strategic positioning in the context of AfCFTA
This alliance comes at a time of major transformation in African trade, driven by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
For the CSC, the priority is to prepare Congolese operators for a more competitive environment where logistics performance is a key differentiator.
Closing the ceremony, the CSC Director General stressed that these agreements should not remain symbolic, but must be treated as performance-driven commitments. Their success will depend on the ability of all parties to translate them into concrete and measurable actions.
By structuring these partnerships, the CSC is laying the groundwork for a more integrated logistics ecosystem, with the ambition of sustainably strengthening the competitiveness of the Congolese economy.
By Antoine Dustell Mbama, Correspondent for Maritimafrica in the Republic of the Congo
