Democratic Republic of Congo’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Daniel Mukoko Samba, has issued a formal warning to the country’s main mobile operators — Vodacom, Airtel, Orange and Africell — over what he described as “practices not in line with legal provisions” regarding exchange rates applied on their digital platforms.
“I have written to all the managing directors to inform them that these practices are not compliant with the law,” Mukoko said in an interview with Top Congo radio. “They cannot profit both from the services they sell and from currency exchange. The discrepancies between the market rate and the one applied by operators may amount to undue margins,” he added.
According to M&B Magazine, Vodacom’s mobile app displayed an exchange rate of 2,400 Congolese francs (CDF) to the U.S. dollar, while offering one gigabyte of data for 3,000 CDF.
The minister warned that the government would not hesitate to impose sanctions if the operators failed to comply. Since the warning, “some have begun adjusting their rates closer to the market level,” he said, adding: “I encourage this. For those who resist, we have the means under the law to act.”
A Rapidly Expanding Market
The DRC ranks among the world’s 15 fastest-growing mobile markets through 2030, according to the GSMA Mobile Economy 2025 report. The number of mobile internet users is projected to rise by 15 million in the next five years, reaching more than 45 million by 2030.
As of June 2024, the Regulatory Authority for Posts and Telecommunications (ARPTC) reported 59.7 million mobile subscribers and 30.7 million mobile internet users. Vodacom leads the market with 36.8% share, followed by Airtel (28.8%), Orange (28.3%) and Africell (6.1%). In revenue terms, however, Airtel holds the top position with 36.2%, ahead of Orange (32.7%) and Vodacom (27.1%).
Between the first and second quarters of 2024, Africell and Orange recorded respective data revenue growth of 14.3% and 11.2%, while Vodacom and Airtel saw slight declines.
Prices and Billing in Local Currency
The minister’s warning comes as part of a broader economic reform package aimed at strengthening the sovereignty of the Congolese franc. On July 14, 2025, Mukoko signed a ministerial order requiring that all goods and services be priced and billed exclusively in the national currency. Published in the Official Gazette on August 14, the measure seeks to consolidate monetary benchmarks and improve market transparency, according to Radio Okapi.
“This is not a ban on the use of foreign currency, but a normalization of monetary references,” the ministry said, noting that contractual transactions in foreign currencies remain permitted under supervision by the Central Bank of Congo. Elisha Iragi for M&B Magazine