After decades of civil war, Kinshasa is now experiencing a sort of “coming out” period. The national economy has been growing by 6.9 percent or more annually since 2010, making the Democratic Republic of the Congo one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. A recent report on cities of the future by the McKinsey Global Institute placed Kinshasa among 20 “hotspots for growth.”

Kinshasa’s small but growing fashion industry is just one part of the economic story here, which is still dominated by mining, manufacturing and telecommunications. But it’s important to understand because it’s entirely organic and driven from the bottom-up by people like Mteyu. There is no government policy stimulating the fashion sector, no city marketing guru who dreamed up the concept of Kinshasa as the next Paris. The DRC is a weak state whose government is not able to protect its citizens, let alone invent a new economic cluster.

At Christmas, Guyjo Kitenge receives a suitcase with designer clothes from his father, who lives in London. During the dictatorship of Mobutu Sese Seko, some Kinshasa residents defied a ban on Western fashion by dressing in European designer brands.
At Christmas, Guyjo Kitenge receives a suitcase with designer clothes from his father, who lives in London. During the dictatorship of Mobutu Sese Seko, some Kinshasa residents defied a ban on Western fashion by dressing in European designer brands. - What happens when an international company settles in Kinshasa and invests in a sector is apparent when Gieskes walks across the central market. “Mama Monique!” the market women call out from behind their stalls selling brightly colored fabrics. “Madame Vlisco!” The women embrace her like the personification of a better life.They talk about how, under Mobutu’s regime, they smuggled these fabrics into the country. After the regime fell in the late 1990s, they had to travel to intermediaries in Togo, Benin or Europe to purchase them. Now that they can trade with the fabric manufacturer right here, life is easier and the income bigger. They can order colors and designs tailored to their customers’ wishes. Vlisco also has made upgrades at the market such as widening the pathways and providing a roof to keep the sun and tropical rainfall out — not out of a desire to do development work, but because this boosts sales. © Yvonne Brandwijk

....

Thanks to its blossoming economy and potential sales market, more and more international companies and investors are starting to believe in the strength of Kinshasa. Six years ago, Dutch company Vlisco — renowned for producing vivid two-sided print fabrics popular in this part of Africa — was the first European fashion business to open an office and flagship store in Kinshasa. “The opportunities are enormous,” says group manager Monique Gieskes. “Ten million people live in Kinshasa, and they are all looking for their own, unique dress code.”

For now, the air-conditioned flagship store is the exception among the street vendors with plastic bags of water piled high on their heads. But that won’t be the case for long. In 2014, a Lebanese investment company opened the first shopping mall. A second shopping center is under construction; every unit was taken before the first brick was laid. “In ten years’ time, it will be full of galleries, shops and malls,” Gieskes predicts. “Just like Mandela Square in Johannesburg.”

What happens when an international company settles in Kinshasa and invests in a sector is apparent when Gieskes walks across the central market. “Mama Monique!” the market women call out from behind their stalls selling brightly colored fabrics. “Madame Vlisco!” The women embrace her like the personification of a better life.

They talk about how, under Mobutu’s regime, they smuggled these fabrics into the country.

....