Can the Democratic Republic of Congo rebound?
The Democratic Republic of Congo has been hit hard over the past few decades by war, currency instability and corruption.
Marketplace’s Sabri Ben-Achour recently spent time in the DRC and says, for him, the Congo is both extraordinary and tragic. “It is a place that is sitting on $24 trillion of mineral wealth, and yet it ranks next to last on the planet in terms of human development,” Ben-Achour says.
Even with a history of civil wars and a stifling bureaucracy that makes business difficult, some choose to return home to the DRC. In the city of Goma, Ben-Achour says he saw not only new construction, but bustling streets as well.
But what about long-term recovery for the Congo? According to Ben-Achour, the DRC and the U.S. are more intertwined economically than one might think. “We have a power to this place that we don’t maybe recognize,” he says. “All of our cellphones have minerals that could have come from this part of the world.”
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