As the third generation of the family leading the firm, Turhan Mildon sees it as his duty to take the Turkish conglomerate, Miller Holding, to the world stage. Africa is a natural next step.

Mildon’s father, Mert Mildon, witnessed Africa’s potential during the Turkish wave that swept through the construction sites of the new town of Diamniadio, Senegal, in the 2010s. At the time, Turkish group Summa was awarded the construction of several major projects, including the Abdou-Diouf International Conference Centre, the Dakar Arena, the Radisson Hotel in Diamniadio, the Abdoulaye-Wade Stadium and the Blaise-Diagne International Airport.

In Mildon’s view, the simultaneous arrival of Turkish companies on the continent is the result of the entrepreneurial vision of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who wants to increase the number of mutually beneficial partnerships with Africa.

Another national asset, according to Mildon, is Turkish Airlines, which has the largest African network for a foreign airline, which between its cargo activities and its commercial routes, creates more opportunities for Turkish businessmen who want to develop their business in Africa.

Kinshasa-N’Djili airport renovation

Miller Holding has launched projects in Liberia, Guinea and Kenya, but it is in DRC that the company is most present on the African continent, with projects including the Kinshasa financial centre – the first phase which was inaugurated in December 2023 – the Arena worksite, currently underway, and the renovation work on Kinshasa-N’Djili airport, due to be launched shortly.

Kinshasa is also home to his subsidiary Milvest, of which he is CEO, and where he now spends more than half his time.

Mildon, who was awarded the contract for the renovation of the airport in May 2023, had hoped to be able to start work as early as September last year, but only obtained the green light from Congolese security services at the end of March this year. He is now waiting for President Felix Tshisekedi to launch the works.

Despite the delays, Mildon believes it will take fewer than two years to complete the project, at an estimated cost of $1.2bn – more than three times the amount put forward when the project was awarded to Chinese company WIETC, which eventually lost the tender to the Turkish company.

It’s a sizeable investment, but one that will enable the airport to reach a capacity of eight million passengers a year, and includes the construction of commercial areas, an airport hotel, areas reserved for business aviation and a cargo terminal.

Milvest will then operate the complex under the terms of its build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract, with a 29-year concession.

In keeping with the family belief in producing and investing “without surrendering to any uncertainty or negativity,” as his father Mert put it in an interview with the Turkish press in 2017, Mildon never dwells on difficulties. In an interview with The Africa Report in May 2023, Mildon said doing business in the DRC is a real challenge adding that “every market has its own challenges” and that, in the DRC, while it takes time to get used to the business environment, “everything gets easier with time”.

Partnership with AS Vita

Mildon keeps a low profile in the Congolese capital. He takes an interest in local politics, closely following the election of Daniel Bumba Lubaki as governor of the city province of Kinshasa, given the stakes for his business.

An avid football fan – he is a shareholder in Turkish club Trabzonspor – in January Mildon, via his subsidiary Milsport, signed a partnership with AS Vita, one of the Congolese capital’s emblematic clubs, of which he will officially be the majority shareholder from 1 July. Ahead of this, the businessman has already helped to improve the club’s financial situation, with salaries now paid at the end of each month and increased bonuses for the players – who also now travel by private plane.

His ambition? To make AS Vita the richest club in Africa, as he told the press. The construction of a 50,000-seat stadium and a training centre are among his plans for the club. It boasts 30 million fans and has won numerous titles in the DRC, as well as the Champions League in 1973, but has lost some of its lustre over the last three years, mainly due to financial problems.