(Tekst door Benedicte Bayunga – Student)

The world’s richest country at the same time the world’s poorest country

It is called the country with the poorest people in the world because of colonialism, decades of slavery and corruption but also the richest country because of its tremendous natural resources such as cobalt, diamonds, gold, uranium, copper and oil. Sad thing is that the country has been at war for 25 years over these resources.

Another unfortunate thing is that Apple cashes in on one of them. Cobalt, namely, is used in every single smartphone that we buy.

Emerging country

The country where I would love to work is the Democratic Republic of the Congo. DRC is an emerging economy because there are a lot of Western Congolese and many foreigners returning with their business plans and investing in this country. This is what I find so appealing about it:

• There are no taxes to be paid. If I want to start up a company there, I might well  make a lot of profit.
• A lot of Chinese investors are working with the country for its resources and return infrastructure as remuneration.
• There is a free market which is accessible to everybody.
• This year, the country realised the third fastest growth rate in the world.

Personal challenge

I am a young Congolese female myself who had the opportunity to grow and study in Europe. My parents opened up a lot of doors for me. I could choose to find a job here but my desires to help others are stronger than I thought. Going back to my roots is a challenge. This is why:

• I’d learn how to start a company under difficult political circumstances.

• I’d have to create a new network and look for financial support to realise my business plan.
• I’d be forced to remain very focused because I’m doing it for the population.
• I’d love to create development trainings for my future employees in their mother language, French and English so that they can grow too.

I strongly believe in our generation helping the country and turn it into one of the most popular future destinations. I hope that the day everybody uses their heart instead of their mind regarding Congo’s resources, I will be able to rewrite this blog with the new title “the richest country with the happiest people in the world”.