The World’s Most Expensive Cities – Oslo, Moscow…Kinshasa?
20 July 2009
By: John Soleanicov, KF8 DRC
Nope, that’s not a misprint, nor an exaggeration. You can find the source right here. Kinshasa comes in at number 6. The first time I tried to go grocery shopping, I thought I had the exchange rate wrong. $20 for a small piece of beef? That can’t be right. Well, it is.
Can this really be one of the most expensive cities in the world?
Home of the largest UN peacekeeping force in the world, the Democratic Republic of Congo has been flooded with foreign troops, aid workers and diplomats, many with generous per diems. This, combined with Congo’s poor infrastructure and lack of production capacity, has resulted in prices that match or exceed those in most developed countries. (Note: Luanda, Angola is ranked even higher, at number 1, for similar reasons.)
It is possible to purchase locally-produced items at more reasonable prices (and this how local Congolese are able to survive) but not in the center of the city, where expatriates live. Getting to areas where food is actually affordable is difficult and can be unsafe, especially after dark. The center, meanwhile, is dotted with expat-oriented grocery stores filled with imported goods at exorbitant prices.
- Shopping in Kinshasa – Products are assiged a code, which converts to a price based on this sheet. For example the Doritos bag here is a “60,” which is 4,756 Congolese Francs, more than $6!
This all came as quite a shock to me during my first days in Kinshasa, and I remember going through a mini-depression after realizing that, with my soon-to-be-grad student budget, I could not afford to buy the basic items I needed. This, I thought, must be what it is like to be poor. Seeing things you need to buy, for yourself or for your family, which you simply cannot afford. For the first time, I was able to identify, albeit on a very limited and fleeting basis, with being poor. It’s not a good feeling. To still meet my budget, I have been forced to adapt. And this, as far as I can tell, is what most Congolese do.
There are virtually no jobs in Congo. Outside the government, the aid community, telecoms and mining, there are very few opportunities for employment. The jobs that do exist (especially in the mining sector) are increasingly at risk due to the global downturn. Unemployment benefits? Forget about it. If you want to survive in Congo, you become an entrepreneur; it’s not a choice, it’s literally your only option.
I’ve lived in New York, Chicago, London, Mexico City and Cairo, but the hustle of Kinshasa puts all these cities to shame. On a typical day, everywhere you go, people are on the move, buying and selling, taking goods from one place, dropping them off somewhere else, loading impossible weights on their heads, jumping in and out of shared taxis and buses. But these individual activities remain tiny, and very few people seem able to escape subsistence living because they can’t access the necessary credit to expand.
Microfinance in the DRC is still in its nascent stages and even if you take all the MFIs in the country, they are only beginning to scratch the surface. It is challenging work but of the upmost importance for the livelihoods of millions of Congolese. There is much to be done.
To see DRC loans currently fundraising on Kiva, click here. If there aren’t any listed check back soon!
Entry Filed under: Congo, DRC, HOPE DRC, a partner of HOPE International, KF8 (Kiva Fellows 8th Class), blogsherpa. Tags: microfinance.
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1. david oglaza | 20 July 2009 at 11:29
I find it hard to understand why more companies do not start production in African countries – it would drive the prices right down but politcal turmoil and corruption probably put most people off.
Micro – credit straight to the small business owner appears the way forward for development at the moment… go KIVA!
2. John Briggs | 20 July 2009 at 20:36
John,
The parallel economies are fascinating: expats on per diems, many ostensibly there to help the locals, who are “forced to adapt” in part because of the distortions that the expats bring with them. When people are forced to adapt, you often witness stunning ingenuity in the face of hardship.
The contrast between the $6 Doritos and the relatively small amounts that HOPE is lending per entrepreneur to groups is sobering too.
http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&partner_id=46&status=All&sortBy=New+to+Old
Looking forward to more posts from the DRC!
Best,
John Briggs
KF8 Kenya
3. Unilove | 20 July 2009 at 22:47
Hi john S:
Do you have a blog or site and a ChipIn button, like Sloane? People have been known to help out, especially Kiva Fellows… That said, again, I have learned something new. I would not have realized the disparity and distortion created by the very people coming to help…
Excellent blog post…
Unilove aka Lisa
Kiva Fellows fan
4. jsoleani | 21 July 2009 at 00:23
david – my sense is that lack of infrastructure, corruption and general political instability keep foreign investors out…in many cases, Chinese-made goods can be sold more cheaply than locally-produced goods, even after accounting for transport and tariffs
john briggs – I completely agree, the grand irony of expats “ostensibly there to help the locals” probably merits a whole separate blog post…
lisa – thanks for the note, i haven’t thought about things like ChipIn, but luckily I’m getting by fine and would rather see people use their money to lend more on Kiva!
JS
5. Steve C | 21 July 2009 at 01:04
As a Kinshasa expat I am continually amazed at how the locals cope with the exorbitant prices for supermarket goods. I feel the profiteering is outrageous as many of the goods are shipped in without proper clearance procedures being observed. For example 2 liters ice cream at $35, Corn Flakes at $17. If these goods are say at least half of the price in Europe, why the big mark up. It is no secret here that many “leaders” control the supermarkets. Perhaps I should fill a container of foods overseas and ship myself!!!
6. milena08 | 21 July 2009 at 05:32
Such an insightful post. In Kenya I struggled a lot with the aid workers who hid behind SUVs and electric fences. I couldn’t help but become one of them. I wish that I could have lived with the locals and refused those $6 dorito bags, but I couldn’t. While ostensibly there to help the locals, I couldn’t stop helping myself. It’s one of the things that I regret about my time in Kenya. Your post brought it home.
Kiva love,
Milena (KF8, Philippines)