The relevance of human capital to firm performance: A focus on the retail industry in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo

Purpose and problem: Human capital represents an investment in education and skills. However, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) the ability of small-scale retailers to grow and increase firm performance is restricted by the scarcity of education and prior work experience.Methodology: Survey data were collected from 126 owner-managers in the retail industry in Kinshasa, DRC, in order to investigate the proposed relationship between the human capital components of education, work experience and venture performance.Findings: Several variables pertaining to education and prior work experience were related to different aspects of venture performance, allowing for support of the hypotheses. Nonetheless, when clustering was conducted some surprising results were observed in that owner-managers tended to have little work experience even where their venture was performing well.Implications: Research into human capital and links to performance in Africa and emerging markets is valuable as recent research has found that the matching of entrepreneurial human capital with opportunities for growth is the essence of economic development.

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Challenges in Implementing a Small-Scale Farmerss Capacity-Building Program: The Case of the Food Production, Processing, and Marketing Project in the Democratic Republic of Congo

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.2740505 ◽

2016 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Catherine Ragasa ◽

Ephraim Nkonya ◽

John Ulimwengu ◽

Josee Randriamamonjy

Keyword(s):

Capacity Building ◽

Food Production ◽

Democratic Republic ◽

Democratic Republic Of Congo ◽

Small Scale ◽

Republic Of Congo ◽

Building Program ◽

Capacity Building Program

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A quantitative comparison of frugivorous tephritids (Diptera: Tephritidae) in tropical forests and rural areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo

Bulletin of Entomological Research ◽

10.1017/s0007485311000216 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 101 (5) ◽

pp. 591-597 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

M. Virgilio ◽

T. Backeljau ◽

R. Emeleme ◽

J.L. Juakali ◽

M. De Meyer

Keyword(s):

Tropical Forests ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Democratic Republic ◽

Democratic Republic Of Congo ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Small Scale ◽

Republic Of Congo ◽

Rural Villages ◽

Congo River ◽

Disturbed Habitats

AbstractMost of the current knowledge about African tephritids originates from studies performed in agricultural areas, while information about their distribution in pristine or moderately disturbed environments is extremely scarce. This study aims at (i) describing levels of spatial variability of frugivorous tephritids in tropical forests and small rural villages of the Congo River basin and (ii) verifying if human-mediated activities, such as small-scale agriculture and trade, can affect their distribution patterns. Four locations were sampled along a 250 km stretch of the Congo River. At each location, pristine and disturbed habitats (i.e. tropical forests and small rural villages, respectively) were sampled, with three replicate sites in each combination of habitat and location. Sampling with modified McPhail traps baited with four different attractants yielded 819 tephritid specimens of 29 species from seven genera (Bactrocera, Carpophthoromyia, Ceratitis, Dacus, Celidodacus, Perilampsis, Trirhithrum). The three most abundant species sampled (Dacus bivittatus, D. punctatifrons, Bactrocera invadens) showed significant variations in abundance across locations and sites and accounted for 98.29% of the overall dissimilarity between habitats. Assemblages differed among locations and sites while they showed significant differences between pristine and disturbed habitats in two out of the four locations. This study shows that frugivorous tephritids in central Congo have remarkably patchy distributions with differences among locations and sites representing the main source of variability. Our data show that, in rural villages of central Democratic Republic of Congo, human activities, such as small-scale agriculture and local commerce, are not always sufficient to promote differences between the tephritid assemblages of villages and those of the surrounding tropical forests.

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Taxation and Public Financial Management of Mining Revenue in the Democratic Republic of Congo

10.19088/k4d.2021.144 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Roz Price

Keyword(s):

Financial Management ◽

Democratic Republic ◽

Democratic Republic Of Congo ◽

Rapid Review ◽

Small Scale ◽

Specific Information ◽

Mining Sector ◽

Republic Of Congo ◽

Public Financial Management ◽

Literature Base

This rapid review provides a summary of the evidence on the taxation and public financial management of mining revenues in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This is a very complex topic, with a large and growing literature base, a huge interest by donors, non-governmental organisations and businesses, with some conflicting information at times. In particular, specific data on provincial budgets and spending was not identified during this review. No specific information on public financial management in either of these provinces was identified during the course of this review. Given the burgeoning size of the literature base and the complexity of the mining sector in the DRC, this rapid review only provides a snapshot of the literature. It draws on academic, grey and donor literature sources. Some papers for further reading are highlighted. The report first provides a brief background discussion of general taxation in the DRC, the decentralisation process, and provincial public revenue management. The next section provides general information on the mining sector in the DRC, including the regulatory system and official duties, royalties and tax provisions. Section 4 goes into more detail about taxation and rent-seeking in the mining sector, touching on both large-scale mining (LSM) and artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). The next section looks at smuggling of minerals in the DRC, with a focus on gold. Finally, some specific lessons learned were drawn from two World Bank projects and highlighted in the final section. Lessons and experiences from other mining-related projects are also highlighted throughout the report. Literature in French was not included in this rapid review, which may mean that some key documents were omitted.

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The domestic market for small-scale chainsaw milling in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Present situation, opportunities and challenges

10.17528/cifor/005040 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Lescuyer G. ◽

Cerutti P.O. ◽

Tshimpanga P. ◽

Biloko F. ◽

Adebu-Abdala B. ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Democratic Republic ◽

Democratic Republic Of Congo ◽

Present Situation ◽

Domestic Market ◽

Small Scale ◽

Republic Of Congo

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The socio-economics of artisanal mining and bushmeat hunting around protected areas: Kahuzi–Biega National Park and Itombwe Nature Reserve, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

Oryx ◽

10.1017/s003060531600171x ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 53 (1) ◽

pp. 136-144 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Charlotte Spira ◽

Andrew Kirkby ◽

Deo Kujirakwinja ◽

Andrew J. Plumptre

Keyword(s):

National Park ◽

Nature Reserve ◽

Democratic Republic ◽

Democratic Republic Of Congo ◽

Great Apes ◽

Small Scale ◽

Republic Of Congo ◽

Large Mammal ◽

Artisanal Mining ◽

Bushmeat Hunting

AbstractIn the Democratic Republic of Congo artisanal and small-scale mining is estimated to provide a source of livelihood for 14–16% of the population, or 8–10 million people. In the eastern part of the country it is one of the main threats to large mammal species and their habitats, including forest elephantsLoxodonta cyclotisand great apes, such as the Critically Endangered Grauer's gorillaGorilla beringei graueriand the Endangered eastern chimpanzeePan troglodytes schweinfurthii. We used semi-structured questionnaires to survey mining communities in and around Kahuzi–Biega National Park and the Itombwe Nature Reserve to understand better the socio-economics of artisanal mining in the region, as well as the impacts of mining on bushmeat hunting. Minerals exploited at the sites surveyed included cassiterite, gold, coltan and wolframite, and most mines were controlled by armed groups. On average, miners earned significantly higher revenue than non-miners. However, mining was seen as a short-term activity and most miners were in favour of leaving the sector for better opportunities. Almost all respondents stated openly that they consumed bushmeat regularly because of the lack of alternatives and believed that bushmeat hunting had caused declines and local extinctions of some large mammal populations, including great apes. Respondents stated they would reduce their consumption of bushmeat if domestic meats became more available. We recommend that future interventions should target mine sites to address bushmeat hunting, by improving access to sustainable meat sources, establishing micro-financing mechanisms to help miners leave the mining sector, and working towards de-militarizing these sites to facilitate law enforcement.

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