DRC: cultural operators from 7 towns team up with banks for win-win projects
Artists from Kalemie, Uvira, Bukavu, Bunia, Kisangani, Isiro and Goma met in the volcanic city on Thursday April 4 as part of the Pasart project, implemented by the Foyer Culturel de Goma and the Érudits Compagnie, to validate the first three projects that will benefit from bank loans. Of the 40 projects submitted, 10 were selected to receive funds to enable them to run bankable projects.
Long before that, in 2023, these cultural operators took part in a training session on entrepreneurship with the "Un jour nouveau" organization. They took a number of subjects, including the creation of bankable projects, financial education and other major entrepreneurial themes.
"We realized that in the east of the DRC, the cultural sector has chosen to live off the financing or support of the money that comes in, which is then either not well managed or not clearly justified, and which has no major impact on the community. And we said to ourselves that it was time we could implement cultural entrepreneurship in this region, through the cultural industry. It's by helping large structures in our region to be sufficiently equipped to have projects that can be, this time, bankable. We're thinking of bringing the creative cultural industry of Eastern DRC closer to the banking system. We want to go there to discuss win-win partnerships as a cultural structure with the banking system in the region", says Augustin Mosange, director of the foyer culturel in Goma and coordinator of the Pasart project.
The artists said they were relieved to have access to credit from banks, enabling them to set up bankable projects. Vodie Grâce is the initiator of the bricast project, a DIY and customization workshop located in Bunia, which was selected as one of the first three beneficiaries of the Pasart project.
"I'm happy because my project has been selected. For this project, together with my team, we're going to make the town of Bunia healthy, by making art objects so that our target clientele can see their waste in clean art and at lower cost", she explains.
Ise Ngeta, head of the provincial culture and arts division in North Kivu, welcomes the materialization of this project.
"If anyone is happy, it's us first. As managers of the artists, we're the ones who are really relieved. So, by our presence, we are showing our support for this project to financially empower the artistic and cultural sector", said the CD de la culture et arts du Nord-Kivu.
The cultural sector is the one that most interests young people in the eastern part of the DRC. Faced with the security crisis and its consequences, many young people have chosen to fight back through culture. As a result, numerous cultural initiatives have been launched over the past ten years. This agreement with the banks is a further step towards building a solid Congolese cultural industry.
Source: actualite.cd/
