LA DIFFERENCE
Organization Details
La Différence is a Congolese business accelerator and advisor in market
development with offices in Bukavu and Goma and a network of experts
in Europe. The team providing the training in phase one are from Bukavu,
Goma and the UK.
The Accélérateur des Pionniers is a support programme provided by La
Différence to help entrepreneurs bridge the ‘pioneer gap’, a term used to
describe the phase that begins twelve months or so after start up, when
businesses sometime struggle to establish a sustainable offer and are
unable to grow.
In addition to the Accelerator Programme, La Différence provides market
development expertise to major businesses and INGOs to help unlock the
potential in market sectors that have the potential to drive social and
economic progress. In the agri-business sector the organisation has
helped to establish and launch a brand of local table rice into consumer
markets in Bukavu and Uvira and supported the export of coffee from
Kivu to Europe and the USA.
Impact Story
La Difference has partnered for many years with
Altech, a leading clean energy company nationwide that has improved
daily life for more than 1 million people in Congo.
In the digital sector La Difference has developed several mobile and web
applications and installed a community wifi network called Pamoja Net to
service remote communities on Idjwi Island.
The Accélérateur des Pionniers draws from this experience and is based
on the knowledge that entrepreneurs who successfully cross the pioneer
gap will drive progress towards the twin goals of prosperity and wellbeing
in Congo. It will take time – maybe many years - but entrepreneurs
are not a transient solution. They are the future of Congo. And La
Différence, as an organisation and model for sustainable progress, aims
to be working alongside them on their journey.
Diverse Social Enterprise
The TRANSFORM Support Hub is committed to accelerating diverse owned and led enterprises to build more equitable and resilient supply chains.