11.07.2025
Held in Pointe-Noire on July 1 and 2, 2025, Racewood 2025 regained its status as a must-attend event for stakeholders in the timber industry in Central Africa.
Over two days, around 150 public decision-makers, professionals, private sector players, and technical and financial partners gathered around a common goal: to structure, revitalize, and promote the national and regional timber industry.
ATIBT would like to thank all Racewood participants from a dozen African and European countries.
An opening ceremony worthy of the challenges at stake
The opening ceremony was attended by high-ranking officials, including:
H.E. Ms. Rosalie Matondo, Minister of Forest Economy of Congo ;
H.E. Mr. Jules Doret Ndongo, Minister of Forests of Cameroon;
H.E. Mr. Maurice Nto Sui Allogo, Minister of Forests of Gabon;
Mr. Edouard Zama, representative of the Minister of Forests of the CAR;
Mr. Hervé Maidou, Executive Secretary of COMIFAC; Ms. Séverine Demerre, representative of the European Union;
Ms. Evelyne Titchelle, Mayor of Pointe-Noire;
Ms. Françoise Van de Ven, President of ATIBT
The opening speech was delivered by H.E. Ms. Rosalie Matondo, patron of the event, who praised the regional commitment to sustainable management of the sector.
Gabon joins ATIBT
The highlight of the first day was the official signing of the Gabonese Republic's accession to ATIBT. This is a symbolic and strategic step, demonstrating Gabon's commitment to fully integrating itself into the international dynamics of sustainable management and processing of tropical timber. This accession also aims to facilitate dialogue between the private sector and forest administration in the Gabonese Republic.
A structuring ministerial round table
The high-level ministerial round table on July 1, moderated by Ms. Van de Ven, brought together ministers and forestry representatives from four countries. Three priority themes were discussed:
Among the key recommendations were:
First day: Technical topics and innovations
The thematic sessions provided an opportunity to discuss in depth:
Day two: Legality, training and processing
July 2 was devoted to major operational issues:
Legality and traceability
Continuing education
Closure of the ADEFAC 1 project
Fifteen years of training and structuring came to a close, with convincing results:
Prospects for ADEFAC 2:
Training tailored to national contexts, digitization, certification, sustainable financing.
Industrial transformation
The last session highlighted the need to intensify local transformation, with a focus on the Congo Industrial Platform in Loango (PICP) presented by Jessica Bouka. The afternoon was devoted to a visit to the Industrial Platform (PICP) in Louango, where the first edition of the Central African Cabinetmaking Competition, co-organized with RIFFEAC, was taking place alongside Racewood.
A festive closing ceremony with the awarding of prizes
Racewood closed with the awarding of prizes to the competitors of the Central African Cabinetmaking Grand Prix and ended in a festive atmosphere with a cocktail reception hosted by Congolese sapeurs, symbols of creativity and strong cultural identity. It was a colorful finale to an edition focused on action and regional cooperation.
You can find all the Racewood presentations here, and the full Racewood report will be published in the coming days.
