EVALUATION OF URBAN TRANSPORT ENTERPRISES: SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES IN THE CITY OF KINSHASA PROVINCE

Abstract

This item assesses the challenges faced by small and medium-sized enterprises in the urban transport sector in Kinshasa through a survey. The methodology is based on a questionnaire survey of 293 urban transport actors. The analysis is both qualitative and quantitative, with descriptive statistics and bivariated tests. The results show that the main challenges are non-compliance with safety standards cited by 44% of respondents, lack of funding for 26.3% and unfair competition for 23.2%. These challenges have a moderate impact on. The majority of companies implement services improvement strategies and consider their services to be satisfactory to customers. However, 54.3% estimated a lack of compliance with schedules and 28% cited insecurity issues. Small and medium-sized enterprises are mainly demanding strengthened regulation, the establishment of suitable infrastructures and easier access to funding. They consider the sector to be on average satisfactory and believe that increased collaboration would be beneficial. These results highlight the major challenges facing urban transport SMEs and the actions to be taken to strengthen their sustainability.