Meet Didier M’Pambia, DR Congo’s new minister of tourism
The Democratic Republic of Congo has a new Minister of Tourism in Didier M’Pambia, a businessman as well as marketing, public relations, events and PR expert.
President Felix Tshisekedi named Didier M’Pambia as part of the new cabinet to begin his second term mandate. M’Pambia replaces Didier Mazenga Mukanzu who replaced Modero Nsimba as the sector minister in March 2023.
Born in Kinshasa on May 3, 1966, Didier M’Pambia saw in the various assignments of his father, a former senior executive in the Congolese territorial administration, a great opportunity to explore the deep Congo.
He imbued himself with his country’s cultural values, particularly languages, he speaks two of the four national languages of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Mr. M’Pambia holds degrees in Business Administration, specializing in marketing, public relations and journalism from the Universities of Chicoutimi and Montreal, in Canada. He gained solid professional experience in the communications and marketing sector for nearly 15 years before returning to the DRC in 2006. On his return, Mr. M’Pambia managed Public Relations and Events at the Ogilvy agency in Kinshasa.
In 2009, he founded the OPTIMUM agency, and in 2010, he launched the OPT1MUM magazine of which he is the Publication Director and Editor-in-Chief.
Having succeeded in positioning himself as a leading cultural operator in Kinshasa, Mr. M’Pambia initiated numerous landmark events in his home country.
Some of the event properties created by M’Pambia in DRC include “The Kinshasa International Gospel Festival”( “Festival International de Gospel de Kinshasa”), “If The Congo Was Sung to Me” (“Si le Congo m’était chanté”), “Gospel Day”, “OPT1MUM FORUM”, and more recently, the “International Festival of Rumba and Elegance (FIRE)”(“Festival International de la Rumba et de l’Élégance (FIRE) “). Following the values carried and advocated by the last event, he participated in the National Rumba Commission which led to the inclusion of this music in the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
Furthermore, Mr. M’Pambia orchestrated the entire funeral program of historic political leader Étienne Tshisekedi, Precop 27, the DRC-AFRICA Forum as well as the communication and branding of Pope Francis’ visit to the DRC.
Mr. M’Pambia is a founding member of the National Makutano network and the President of the Communication and Marketing Commission of the Congo Business Federation (FEC) since December 2022.
Didier M’Pambia who assumed office as Minister of Tourism of the Democratic Republic Congo on May 28, 2024, is expected to use his vast experience and passion to promote the cultural and tourism sectors to help shape beautiful showcases of the DRC.
His vision is to make his beautiful country one of the most popular tourist destinations in Africa and the world.
