Business Opportunities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo?s (DRC) rich endowment of natural resources, large population, and strategic location in Central Africa make it an attractive market for U. S. companies. However, the DRC?s investment climate remains highly challenging. Following decades of economic collapse due to economic mismanagement, corruption, and conflict, successive Governments in the DRC have undertaken economic reforms since 2001 with the aim to reconnect with sustainable growth, to ensure the control of inflation, to maintain the stability of the macroeconomic framework, and to reduce the weight of external debt and rehabilitate certain basic infrastructure. The efforts made by successive Governments from 2001 to 2013 gave good results but in relation to the challenges, there is still much to do. The DRC?s economy stabilized and resumed strong growth in 2010 following a significant economic slowdown in late 2008 and throughout 2009 as a result of the global financial crisis. The GDP growth rate more than doubled from 2.8% in 2009 to 7.1% in 2010. From 2011 to 2013, the GDP growth rate rose from 6.9% to 8.5%. In 2014, the GDP growth rate is expected to reach 9.5%. This growth, which is due mainly to the mining, trade, and services sectors, remains insignificant with regard to the great economic potential of the country. In 2013, appropriate government monetary and fiscal policies helped ensure unprecedented low inflation 1.6%, while the national currency was very stable throughout the year. The rate of the Congolese franc has stabilized around 920 CDF for a dollar since 2010. In 2013, two times, the Central Bank has lowered the primary lending rate, moving it successively from 4% to 3% then to 2%. This last rate remains today.