Transcript | Landry Meya

Arthur Katalayi (Host): Hello, a new podcast from A2k Advisory. I’m Arthur Katalayi, Senior partner at A2k Advisory, a mining consulting firm. Today, we have Mr. Landry Meya as our guest. Mr. Meya is a multi-talented Congolese entrepreneur who began his career in various African countries before settling in South Africa.

Mr. Meya, could you give us an overview of your early beginnings and your extraordinary professional journey?

Landry Meya (Guest): Thank you for having me. Mr. Arthur, I am Landry Meya. I started my career, I would say, at the very bottom. I began in Cape Town, where I worked as a Customer Service Team Leader for a French company called AGS Déménagement. Still at AGS Déménagement, I moved to the company’s debt collection department.

Later, I joined the oil company Shell, where I worked as a Key Account Manager and was later promoted to the position of Credit Analyst, specifically analyzing credits for Shell. After Shell, I went to work for the American company Cummins Diesel. Cummins is a manufacturer of generators and diesel engines worldwide.

I worked for Cummins in Business Development for Central Africa. After Cummins, I decided to start my own company. After a year, it didn’t work out, so I had to close my business in Kinshasa and return to Cape Town. Shortly after that, I had the opportunity to work for the German company Bosch, where I served as the Commercial Director in the mining sector for all of Africa.

I would say that’s where my entrepreneurial vision began. That’s where I understood that I could gain more experience with multinational companies and still start a company with my partners, and why not move forward? That’s it.

Arthur Katalayi: Very, very interesting. So today, your current position is the CEO of Akata DRC. First of all, why “Akata,” and what does it mean?

Landry Meya: Alright, “Akata” comes from an African language, in Namibian, which means “Resilience,” someone resilient. We started it in South Africa with my partner; he’s actually the founder of Akata, and the name comes from him. Then we decided to expand the company across Africa.

Today, we are in Zambia, in Kitwe, and also in the DRC in Kolwezi.

Arthur Katalayi: What are your broad business activities?

Landry Meya: We are mining service providers, specializing in mining expertise. In Akata, we have two segments of the company. There is the service part where we provide engineering services to mining companies. So, anything related to design, engineering, or manufacturing of machines, equipment, etc., we can do it for mining companies. And on the product side, we handle the supply chain, meaning we can procure for mining companies and provide them with what we produce for them. Today, in the DRC, we are already doing this for over 6 mining companies based in Lualaba and Manono.

Arthur Katalayi: Very interesting. Additionally, you are also the President of the Congolese Subcontractors Association, and the current law aims to make subcontracting and related activities to the main business activity mandatory and reserves it for Congolese companies with Congolese capital. This is intended to promote and foster the emergence of a Congolese middle class, as we discussed earlier and as is currently being discussed at the state level. However, winning contracts in subcontracting remains a real puzzle for young Congolese companies, and some large mining companies prefer to award these contracts to foreign companies in total violation of the Congolese subcontracting law in effect since 2018 in the DRC. What needs to be done to remedy this great injustice affecting Congolese companies and, by extension, Congolese entrepreneurs?

Landry Meya: First and foremost, it’s the vision of the subcontractors’ association. So, we are here to lobby for local companies and advocate for them. To make sure that this law is enforced and that the main companies comply with it. But, in my opinion, the most important thing to ensure that main companies today respect this law is to have proper monitoring. We really need a mechanism in place.

We need, I would say, a service in place to monitor main company by main company, to ensure after an audit that these companies comply with the 17/001 law. And I think it’s possible because, you know, it was important to have this law in the first place, and now that we have it, we must make sure it’s followed. I also believe that it’s the role of the subcontractors’ association. We push, we advocate, and we ensure that the Subcontracting Regulatory Authority understands the challenges that local companies face day and night.

Arthur Katalayi: Is this the responsibility of the ARSP, the Subcontracting Regulatory Authority, the authorities, or both entities?

Landry Meya: For me, I believe that first and foremost, it’s the Subcontracting Regulatory Authority that is the backbone of subcontracting in the DRC. But we also think, as civil society, that with subcontracting today and the subcontractors’ club, we must ensure that we have all the necessary information, not only regarding abuses but also what is actually happening in this field to work together with the subcontracting authority for the authority, ARSP, to do its job.

Arthur Katalayi: According to a study conducted in 2023 by the ARSP, the Subcontracting Regulatory Authority in the private sector, over $8 billion are escaping the Democratic Republic of Congo in the subcontracting sector, which the Head of State wishes to make one of the main pillars of the Congolese economy. The current economy is heavily dependent on mining, with a significant presence of non-natives. How do you see the situation evolving? And when we talk about subcontracting, we often think of the mining sector, but there are other sectors involved in subcontracting as well.

Landry Meya: I think that what we are already doing in the mining sector can also be replicated in different sectors such as telecommunications, brewing, agriculture, energy, and manufacturing. I believe we will see the emergence of a true Congolese middle class. But I also think, to put it bluntly, when we talk about $8 billion, it’s enormous.

And I think we talk about it primarily in the mining sector because, to this day, main companies continue to purchase directly from manufacturing companies. This means what we call OEMs, Original Equipment Manufacturers, and this is what the subcontracting law prohibits. So, I repeat, I believe that the ARSP, the Subcontracting Regulatory Authority, has a very important role to play in ensuring that this law is followed.

Arthur Katalayi: The DRC currently has over 15,000 subcontracting companies. However, Congolese are absent in key sectors such as communication, as you mentioned, brewing, agriculture, energy, and manufacturing. The laws in favor of Congolese exist but are not implemented. Do we need radical measures to make progress?

Landry Meya: Radical measures? Perhaps. Yes, but I think that what’s most important is to ensure that we have selected competent Congolese companies capable of doing the work. Because today, when you go to main companies, the biggest problem we find is that main companies can demonstrate that some subcontracting companies lack the necessary skills. So, I believe that the ARSP must also play a role in selection.

I don’t know 200 or 500 companies certified by the ARSP that are competent and have the necessary experience to do work X, Y, or Z. And I think that’s where we need to start to ensure that main companies don’t continue to play the same game, saying that Congolese or local companies are not competent.

Arthur Katalayi: In conclusion, what advice would you give to Congolese entrepreneurs who struggle every day to access markets, especially in the mining industry, but face significant challenges in seizing these opportunities because they are not given the opportunity? In other words, do you have any advice for these entrepreneurs to achieve their goals?

Landry Meya: I think, and I have always said, as a great man who is a prominent figure in leadership has said, it’s about mentorship. For these young Congolese entrepreneurs, it is very important to connect with people who have been there, so these individuals can become their mentors.

Why a mentor? Because, you know, you can never start a business without someone who has been there before you to share all the challenges or mistakes they made. So, that’s why I have always told young people not to rush.

Don’t jump quickly to millions. Instead, be willing to learn, to understand the game before getting into it. So, that’s the advice I would give to the youth; they should find mentors, people who have been through it. They can avoid some mistakes by learning from the errors their mentors have already had to overcome.

Arthur Katalayi: Finally, you are well aware that elections are looming on the horizon. You are an entrepreneur, a businessman, and you are primarily focused on economic matters, but we cannot ignore the political question. How do you see things unfolding in the coming months? And what impact could this have on the country’s economy, as it plays a crucial role in driving the country forward?

Landry Meya: First and foremost, I believe we have a President, Félix Antoine Tshisekedi. I think he came with a vision, and that vision is to create a true middle class, the creation of a class of millionaires. I also believe that we can give him this opportunity. But, as I have always said, the Head of State can share a vision, but it is up to people to implement that vision.

So, when we talk about the ARSP, it is also there to translate, deliver, or implement the President’s vision. I believe that we will always need political stability in the DRC, especially for the business climate. For that, it is essential for not only Congolese to exercise their civic duty, but also to ensure that the vision of the Head of State is actually implemented, so we can see a class of Congolese millionaires today or tomorrow.

Arthur Katalayi: In any case, Mr. Meya, thank you for hosting us. We hope to continue succeeding to inspire millions of Congolese who need inspiration because we don’t always have inspiration in front of us to go beyond and excel. You are part of this category, and we thank you.

Landry Meya: I thank you, Mr. Katalayi.