Can you introduce SEGUCE DRC?
First of all, it is perhaps necessary to recall that it is with the aim of improving the transparency, the celerity and the efficiency of the procedures related to the import, export and transit of goods that the Authorities of the Democratic Republic of Congo wanted to provide innovative solutions to secure, automate and optimize the procedures used by the Foreign Trade Community.
Thus, at the end of a long process, the Congolese State has chosen the group Bureau
Veritas Group and its technology partner SOGET to create SEGUCE DRC, a private operator in the framework of a public-private partnership.
Under the supervision of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and the Ministry of Finance, SEGUCE DRC is in charge of deploying and operating the Guichet Unique Intégral du Commerce Extérieur (GUICE), a neutral, transparent and secure electronic platform, accessible 24/7 via the Internet, to the entire foreign trade community.
It is important to note that the use of GUICE has been made mandatory throughout the Republic by Decree No. 15/019 of October 14, 2015.
How does your brand positively impact the business community?
SEGUCE DRC impacts the business community by addressing 3 key issues: First of all, speed, since the IT platform allows foreign trade actors to exchange information without moving, in dematerialized format and in real time. The time saving is obvious. Transparency is also important because GUICE allows us to trace all the interventions of the different actors in the import or export process. We know which operator has intervened, at what time and at what stage. Finally, efficiency is illustrated by the reliability of the GUICE data. Every day, we are reducing the number of paper scans and replacing them with digital data flows, which by definition are unforgeable and respond to an environmental emergency.
In 2022, SEGUCE processed 280,000 import/export files via GUICE, and we expect to do even better in 2023, in particular thanks to the launch of our land export module.
April 10, 2023 marks the launch of operations related to the land export of mining products in Lualaba, can you tell us more?
We officially launched GUICE’s land-based export module on April 10 in the city of Kolwezi, thanks to the strong commitment of the Governor of Lualaba and the strong support of our Minister in charge.
Lualaba is therefore our “pilot” province before deploying this module in all the provinces concerned.
For several months, we have been participating in the campaign to popularize the reform of foreign trade desired by the government. Thanks to this campaign, we notice that many operators are curious and willing to carry out their operations via GUICE.
In order to help all these operators, SEGUCE has created 16 local offices, including one in Kolwezi, in order to train and/or accompany, free of charge, all operators who need to carry out their operations via GUICE. We are thus present in airports, ports and many border posts.
In each of our locations, our teams are mobilized to support all stakeholders and actively contribute to the success of this crucial GUICE deployment phase.
A final word?
Just to tell you that after 18 years with the Bureau Veritas group in France, I am particularly happy to be able to contribute to this magnificent adventure of the reform of the DRC’s foreign trade. This reform is helping to strengthen the DRC’s competitiveness on the international level, both in terms of import/export activities and in terms of improving the business climate.
