Ambassador Tamlyn - "It's a youth boom that the world has never seen"

"One thing that I really was not as aware of as perhaps I should have been, was the deep and abiding Congolese sense of having a long term relationship with the United States."

Ambassador Tamlyn has spent much of her career working across Africa, from Sudan and the Central African Republic to Mozambique, Chad, and now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The DRC has Africa’s fourth-largest population at around 112 million.  Yet it remains one of its poorest countries and that's despite being the world’s biggest producer of cobalt. Vast mineral wealth has in part fuelled a two-decade-long conflict in the east, one the United States has been trying to end. Could this be a breakthrough for a new foreign policy approach known as 'commercial diplomacy'? I spoke to one of Washington’s most experienced ambassadors. 

Plus: Why the US needs to care about Congo

🌟 IN THIS EPISODE:

2:41 The shared DNA between Congo and the USA

4:08 Congo's potential

7:44 The American company boosting connectivity in Congo

9:10 The competing interests in South Kivu

14:07 Can business bring peace?

16:06 Battling corruption

18:23 The Congolese consumer

💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:

"The Congolese are very proud of the Ali - Foreman fight."

"They're consumers of American goods, American services, American education, American sports activities."

"Our goal through encouraging better government, governance, transparent governance, accountability is to try to encourage the government to hold all investors, all economic partners, to the same standard, the standards of the laws of the country."

🌍 ABOUT LIMITLESS AFRICA

The podcast that asks how Africans and Americans can work together for shared prosperity

Every Monday: 15-minute episodes that dive into an issue that matters to Africans

Every Thursday: extended interview with someone unlocking Africa's limitless potential

➕ WANT MORE?

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Is venture capital the right choice for African start-ups? https://trueafrica.co/article/podcast/is-venture-capital-the-right-choice-for-african-start-ups/

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