Delegates from the Democratic Republic (DR) of Congo stopped by Fort Lauderdale to discuss economic opportunities in the local market, as part of the county’s initiative to promote further international trade.
In honor of the historic visit, the delegation was presented with a key to the County by Commissioner Dale Holness.
The DR Congo shares 9.165 kilometers of borders with neighboring countries, Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. With 37% of African hydropower potential and 23% of global potential, 47% of African tropical forests and 6% of global tropical reserves. The DR Congo has been a unitary Republic since 2006 as a result of the new constitution that was approved by referendum in 2005, and has achieved a remarkable economic recovery in recent years.
The country has enormous assets for the development of the energy sector: a hydroelectric potential of 100,000 megawatts (23% of global potential and 37% of African Potential; 52% of freshwater reserves in Africa; and various potentials in renewable energy (solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, etc.).
The business and investment climate in DR Congo includes a One-Stop-Shop to simplify business creation procedures (creation time: 3 days); prohibition of nationalization and expropriation; freedom to transfer generated income; establishment of; and establishment of special economic zones.
Along with meeting Commissioner Holness, the delegation included visits to Broward County’s Office of Economic and Small Business Development and were given a tour of Port Everglades.
