TEXAF (officially Société Financière et de Gestion TEXAF) is a Belgian investment company listed on Euronext, with diversified operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo spanning real estate, industry, and digital sectors. With its corporate headquarters situated at Avenue Louise 130A in Brussels, TEXAF traces its origins to 14 August 1925, when it was founded in the then-Belgian Congo as Société Textile Africaine by a consortium of Belgian industrialists. The company grew rapidly, branching into sectors such as cotton cultivation, energy production, and transportation logistics, and by 1928, it held the ninth-largest market capitalization among Belgian-Congolese companies before later co-founding the Société Hydro-électrique de Sanga.
By 1930, TEXAF dominated regional cotton production and vast agricultural projects including experimental concessions and even elephant domestication. Despite industrial dominance by 1930, the global economic crisis and overexpansion led to major losses. TEXAF restructured in the 1930s, spinning off subsidiaries such as Usines Textiles de Léopoldville (UTEXLÉO, textiles), Société Immobilière, Agricole et Forestière du Congo (IMAFOR, real estate and agriculture), and transferring its maritime and hydrological operations to governmental authorities. The company was transformed into a holding under Crédit Anversois, which collapsed in 1939, resulting in its TEXAF shares being passed to SOPABEL. The advent of World War II interrupted Crédit Anversois' liquidation proceedings, leaving UTEXLÉO encumbered by significant debt obligations, although it maintained industrial productivity. From 1951–1960, TEXAF disbursed dividends amounting to 360.2 million Belgian francs and expanded manufacturing capabilities through modernization. UTEXLÉO diversified its portfolio with factories for blankets (Socotex), sacks (TISSACO), hosiery (Bonneterie Africaine), and laundry services (Blanchisserie de la Gombe), while expanding into construction materials with firms like Bricongo and Carricongo. By 1960, UTEXLÉO was ranked as the 31st largest corporate entity in the Congo, with assets worth 220 million Belgian francs.
In 1974, UTEXLÉO was nationalized and renamed UTEXCO under Zaire's Authenticité campaign. TEXAF regained full control of UTEXCO by 1976 despite failed ownership transfer negotiations. It re-entered cotton production in 1978 with a 25% stake in Cotonnière du Kasai-Maniema, amid the collapse of state-run supply chains. In the 1980s, TEXAF raised its stake in Cotonnière du Kasai-Maniema to 51% and acquired SOLBENA and ESTAGRICO, though parts of SOLBENA were later liquidated. In 1987, COBEPA became TEXAF's majority shareholder with an 82% stake. In 1988, TEXAF consolidated its textile operations under the UTEXAFRICA umbrella, merging UTEXCO, Zaïreprint (a printing unit), and Otricot-Super Star (hosiery and clothing). The following year, TEXAF acquired ESTAGRICO, an agricultural enterprise with plantations in Uvira, from Unibra. By 1993, 50% of ESTAGRICO was divested to the French cotton conglomerate Compagnie Française pour le Développement des Fibres Textiles (CFDT), now known as Développement des agro-industries du Sud (Dagris). During this period, TEXAF's subsidiary MECELCO, which maintained rolling stock for Gécamines, ceased to receive contractual payments. In 2000, TEXAF's majority shareholder COBEPA faced a takeover by BNP Paribas. By 2001, UTEXAFRICA declared bankruptcy amid mounting debt, including EUR 31 million owed to the IFC. A December settlement, backed by COBEPA, enabled operations to continue. In June 2002, a management-led buyout spearheaded by Philippe Croonenberghs transferred controlling interest in TEXAF to Société Financière Africaine (SOFINA), which acquired an 82.1% stake. An additional 7% equity tranche was allocated to UTEXAFRICA's executive cadres Albert Yuma Mulimbi and Jean-Philippe Waterschoot.
In April 2004, TEXAF signed a framework agreement with China's CHA Textiles Group to establish a joint venture named Congotex, aimed at consolidating UTEXAFRICA's textile business and wax-fabric operations, with TEXAF retaining a 43% shareholding in the venture. The two entities founded a real estate firm, IMMOTEX, jointly owned by UTEXAFRICA and CHA. In 2007, TEXAF acquired ANAGEST, proprietor of three residential complexes, from the ATENOR Group. That year also marked the cessation of textile manufacturing in the DRC as Congotex entered liquidation. With the dissolution of the national textile industry, UTEXAFRICA emerged as the majority stakeholder in IMMOTEX and redirected its core focus toward real estate. In 2009, TEXAF acquired the remaining 50% of CARRIGRES—its construction materials subsidiary—for EUR 5.75 million. In 2014, the CHA Textiles Group acquired a 10% interest in TEXAF. That same year, the conglomerate divested its interest in IMBAKIN.
Mission The corporate purpose of TEXAF, as stated in Article 3 of its Articles of Association: "The company's purpose is to take an interest, through equity participation, in all industrial, commercial, or civil enterprises, including providing technical, administrative, and financial assistance, and to manage such a portfolio. It may, within the limits of its corporate purpose, carry out all transactions involving movable and immovable property, as well as financial, industrial, commercial, and civil operations, both in Belgium and abroad. It may also participate, by way of contribution, transfer, merger, subscription, shareholding, financial involvement or otherwise, in any companies or operations having a similar or related purpose or that may help achieve its purpose".
History
Founding, early development, and expansion into water and electricity infrastructure The history of TEXAF dates back to 1924, when Valère Lecluse, director of the Lecluse Frères textile factories in Ronse, traveled to the Belgian Congo to establish a cotton enterprise. Recognizing the potential of processing cotton locally, Lecluse requested land from the colonial authorities for the construction of a textile plant. He was granted a provisional two-year lease on approximately 45 hectares of land, strategically located between the Gombé River, the Léo 1 and Léo 2 railway lines, the Basoko River, and the Congo River. Lecluse secured the support of the Lagache Frères group, textile industrialists based in Ronse, leading to the formal establishment of the Société Textile Africaine (TEXAF) on 14 August 1925. The Lagache group held 95% of the initial 20 million franc capital, with Lecluse retaining 5%. The founding board of TEXAF included members of the Lagache family—Henri Lagache (president), Victor Lagache (vice president), Léon Lagache (managing director), and Edmond Lagache (director)—alongside Lecluse, Joseph Dieudonné Rhodius (who would later serve as managing director in Belgian Congo from 1934 to 1947 and vice president from 1947 to 1957), and cotton trader Robert Pflieger. Crédit Anversois also participated, represented by Louis Eloy and Fernand Vigneron.
In April 1927, TEXAF secured permanent concession rights to the leased land, and on 16 May of the same year, construction began with the laying of the factory's first stone. Joseph Rhodius assumed the role of managing director that year, contributing assets from his other ventures, including Rhodeby and Rhokasai. The official inauguration of the factory took place on 28 June 1928, presided over by King Albert I of Belgium. By that year, TEXAF had achieved a stock market capitalization of 417.2 million francs, ranking ninth among Belgian-Congolese enterprises. Driven by ambitious expansion goals, the company ventured into cotton cultivation and processing beyond the Belgian Congo, establishing the COTONAF cotton company in French Equatorial Africa. TEXAF diversified its holdings by acquiring power plants, oil mills, and riverboats to support its growing industrial base. In 1930, TEXAF and Crédit Anversois co-founded the Société Hydro-electric de Sanga, situated on the Inkisi River, 80 kilometers from Léopoldville (now Kinshasa). With a capital of 60 million francs and TEXAF holding a majority stake (60,001 of 120,000 shares), the power station was built to supply electricity to the textile plant. It also provided power to the Bas-Congo (now Kongo Central) region and Brazzaville through a partnership with Colectric. The power company later evolved into Forces Electriques et Mécaniques (Sanga) before merging with TEXAF in 1962. TEXAF also controlled industrial subsidiaries such as MECELCO and SEMACO (Jaspar elevators).
TEXAF played a role in the development of urban infrastructure, subscribing to nearly 25,000 shares in the Société de Distribution d'Eau de Léopoldville (now REGIDESO), founded on 18 November 1929 with a capital of 30 million francs. This was part of the Lukunga Water Supply Project, which would support industrial and urban needs. That same year, TEXAF launched its medical service for workers and employees. The company's textile operations ramped up quickly. By the end of 1928, the spinning mill began operations with 10,000 spindles, followed in April 1929 by a weaving section equipped with 288 looms, each operating at 175 strokes per minute. The dyeing section, specializing in indigo fabrics, was capable of processing 20,000 meters during an 8-hour shift. Cotton production also increased steadily—from 1,252 tons in 1926 to 4,772 tons in 1929. In that same year, textile output reached 927,000 meters. Financially, TEXAF recorded net results of 3.87 million francs in 1927, rising to 17.17 million in 1928, before declining to 5.35 million in 1929.
Corporate reorganization, wartime production and expansion By 1930, TEXAF had become a dominant player in the region's cotton industry, operating 32 ginning factories across the Belgian Congo and French Equatorial Africa and reaching a production level of 7,500 tons of cotton and 4,366,000 meters of textile output. The factory covered 31,250 square meters, and the company had established a broad agricultural division, which encompassed six major concessions and experimental projects such as the 4,000-hectare Rhodeby Concession near Léopoldville, the Rhokasai and Ruzizi concessions, cottonseed propagation farms, sericulture initiatives, and even an elephant domestication program.