BUSINESS

CULTURE:
REPUPLIC OF CONGO
Abstract
With the advancement of technology in different fields, the lines of communication and
transportation have become better than ever. For many companies the goal of expanding beyond
national boundaries have become more realistic for not only boosting profits, diversifying product lines,
tapping into isolated and potential markets but also getting a competitive advantage over its
competitors. It has therefore become important to not only understand the market potential but also
their culture, behavior and history for an effective cross-cultural and communication success. The
purpose of this paper to help an expatriate understand the culture dynamics of the Republic of Congo,
for setting up an effective business strategy and relationship.

Introduction
The Kongo Kingdom is the official source of the official name of the Republic of Congo, which
was one of the great early empires in Central Africa[ CITATION Eve10 \l 1033 ]. It is also known as
Congo-Brazzaville, Little Congo or simply the Congo[ CITATION Rep10 \l 1033 ]. The country borders
with Gabon, Cameroon, the Angola enclave of Cabinda, the Central African Republic and the Democratic
Republic of Congo.

The country is a former French colony that got its independence in August 15 th, 1960 after which
the former French region of Middle Congo became the Republic of Congo[ CITATION Rep10 \l 1033 ].
The country still maintains economically and politically ties with France. The country has been a Marxist-
Leninist single party state until 1991. Since 1992, multi-party elections have been held in the country
though it has been ousted in a civil war in 1997. The civil war and a political instability has cause large-
scale violence and led to the destruction of many infrastructures including electricity, hospitals and
schools, which led to a widespread of disease, water and food shortage and displacement.

The Republic has fifteen main ethic groups and seventy-five subgroups. The largest ethnic
groups are the Bakongo (48% of population), the Sangha (20%), the Teke (17%), and the M’Bochi (12%)
[ CITATION Eve10 \l 1033 ]. There is no official state religion under the Fundamental Act of 1992, which
mandates freedom of religion. Fifty percent of the current population follows Christianity, forty-eight
percent are animist and the remaining two percent are Muslims[ CITATION The10 \l 1033 ].

The official and business language of the republic is French, while Lingala and Monokutuba are
commonly spoken trade languages. Many other languages and dialects are spoken; the most widely are
Kikongo, Sangha, and Bateke. A talking drum language developed in the villages as a form of long-
distance communication[ CITATION Eve10 \l 1033 ]. Particular drum beats are performed for special
events including marriage, death and birth.

The population of the Republic of Congo in 2009 is estimated to be 4,012,809 and it is currently
th
the 127 populous country in the world[ CITATION The10 \l 1033 ]. “Estimates for this country explicitly

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take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy,
higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the
distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected” [ CITATION The10 \l
1033 ]. More than 50 percent of the population lives in urban areas, particularly Brazzaville and Pointe
Noire, while the rest lives in either along the main railway between these cities or in isolated rural areas.

Psychographic
Low context, High context
The Republic of Congo like many Asian countries prefer instead more oral, low content (but high
context) modes of communication. This means that they are not direct individuals. This can also noticed
in the fact that even though their Fundamental Act of 1992 guarantee rights and forbids discrimination,
one can easily find discrimination of the women and the forest dwellers.

Silent language
A talking drum language has been developed in the villages for long-distance communication for
specials including marriage, death and birth.

Religious/Belief system
The Fundamental Act of 1992 mandates freedom of religion and there is no official state
religion. Before the coming of Christianity and Islam, all the natives’ religions were animist. The
monotheistic religion of Nzambi is widely practiced among the Bakongo. In this tradition, Nzambi
created the world after great sickness and then went to live with the ancestral spirits.

Higher Order Control

It is believed that when family members die of natural causes, they join the ancestral world and
protect the living. In the case of violent or wrongful death, they roam until retribution has been paid.
Therefore in native religions, medicine and religion are often indistinguishable.

Achievement vs. Ascription

The Republic has an ascribed culture, where social status is associated social background, age,
education and family. Ethnicity is the forefront of the society, which means that the forest dwellers are
discriminated against and considered the lowest part of a society much like the Indian society. It is very
rare to have an individual to rise up in social classes through hard work and most successful Congolese
are those who are born in that status class.

Relation to Nature
According to [ CITATION Eve10 \l 1033 ], the mythology of the region is tied closely to the
mystical powers of animals and families choose specific animals to represent them and often raise
totems poles to signify it.

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Negotiating
Little is known of their negotiating skills and little information could have been founded on its
neighbors as well. One can consider them to be tough and fair negotiators, when one looks how they
deal with brideprice1 (dowry). Usually a man is expected to pay a high and an agreed upon price for the
virginity of the bride, which if not proven can lead to the marriage being annulled and the return of the
brideprice.

Dynamism & Power Distance

The Republic has not displayed dynamism and heavily on International investors.
“Because of communism and local social customs, few people have accumulated personal
wealth”[ CITATION Eve10 \l 1033 ]. The general indicators of prosperity are money, large houses and
education.

The Republic has a hierarchical business structure, were decisions making are made by top
management and therefore the information flows from top to bottom.

Bribery vs. Lobbying

Like many third world countries, where many live below poverty line, the Republic of Congo also
suffers from bribery even in government sector. Recently Greenpeace 2 found evidence of the Danzer
Group (Swiss/Germany Company) involvement of paying millions to the public officials for the
deforestation of the precious Congo Basin rainforest.

Master of destiny
The Congolese are not the master of destiny especially women and forest dwellers.

Specific vs. Diffuse cultures

Since the country consists of fifteen main ethnic groups and seventy-five subgroups 3. Therefore
there is a diffusion of culture like South Asian countries like but not excluded to India and Pakistan.

Individualism vs. collectivism

The Republic of Congo is definitely a collectivism society; where a lot of importance is given to
the greater good of the community. The oldest uncle on the mother side has to have more influence
over a child’s life, including and limited to education, employment and marriage selection. Cousins on
the mother’s side are considered to be siblings. Any care that is needed is distributed through the entire
family system and the family is responsible for sick, handicapped and elderly members. There are less
individual agendas observed in the work place and promotions are generally hierarchical.

Masculinity vs. femininity

The Republic of Congo is definitely more of a masculine culture, where majority of the
workforce is considered of men. Even though according to the Fundamental Act of 1992, discrimination

1
http://www.everyculture.com/Bo-Co/Republic-of-Congo.html.
2
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/releases/greenpeace-exposes-danzer-grou
3
Republic of Congo (EveryCulture.com). (n.d.). Retrieved March 2010, from EveryCulture.com:
http://www.everyculture.com/Bo-Co/Republic-of-Congo.html

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based on race or sex is illegal and equal pay for equal work is mandated, women are discouraged to
attain paid employment or High level education. This have lead to an underrepresentation of women in
politics, workforce and in higher levels of education. Women are typically responsible for labor in and
around the house and child bearing, while men usually are the bread earners of the family. Rural men
hunt while the urban dwellers are the money earners.

Uncertainty Avoidance & Space Concept:

The Congolese has moderate uncertainty avoidance. A respectable distance should be kept
while talking to them. Cooking takes place in front of the house, along with social interaction.

Behavioristic
Do’s and Don’ts
Democratic Republic Of Congo4 Is customary Is not customary Is disallowed
Is allowed Is frowned upon Is forbidden
Is permissible Is a crime
Is used
Is OK
Smoking in public 
Eating in public 
Drinking alcohol in public 
Kissing in public 
Religious preaching in public 
Chewing gum in government offices 
Laughing aloud in public 
Littering 
Drunk driving 
Speeding 
Possession of the Christian Bible 
Possession of the Muslim Quran 
Possession of firearms (by foreigners) 
Possession of pocket knife in public 
Tipping (when service is not rendered) 
Homosexuality 
Lesbianism 
Females smoking in public 
A woman extending her hands first when introduced 
Persons of same sex holding hands in public 
Hugging in public by same sex 
Woman walking ahead (in public) with the man
following
Talking to an elderly person with hands positioned on 
both sides of the waist
Blowing one’s nose in public 
Blowing one’s nose in the presence of others 

4
Gladson I Nwanna, Ph.D., Do’s and Don’t’s Around the World - A Country Guide to Cultural
and Social Taboos and Etiquette, Europe¸ Canada: Library of Congress Cataloging, 1998, pp.
83-92.
Page 5 of 11
 The completion of business deal with a handshake
Starting a negotiation session with a handshake
A gift for the host/hostess 
Giving a business gift 
A gift of money (use of money as gift) 
Use of flowers as a gift
Use of business cards 
Casual wearing of clothings made with colors & marks
of the national flag
Sitting on the floor (on floor mats) 
Touching or patting someone’s head/hair 
Casual touching of any part of someone’s body
Drinking directly out of a bottle/can 
Placing one’s leg(s) on the table or chair 

Taboos
Food taboo depends on the village and tribe. If a family has a totem, it cannot eat that animal as
it is considered to be a spiritual protector.

Ethnocentrism
The Congolese are proud of their culture uniqueness and country heritage. This has led to
widespread discrimination against the pygmies, knowsn as Teke and Aka from all other ethnic group in
Central Africa primarily because they are unorganized forest dwellers with little political power. They
receive lower pay, are turned away from hospitals and are not represented in the government.

Self reference criteria (SRC)

The Republic‘s self reference criteria is similar to that of many other countries in the world. They
are typically respectful to elders and the “family” is responsible for sick, the handicapped and the elderly
members.

Etiquette
The Congolese takes pride in their appearance and manner of dress. Regardless of financial
status, it is common to wear clean and hand pressed garments. There is a certain formality in social
interactions between rural and urban areas. Older people/elders are shown respect thorough both
physical gestures and tone. “An inquiry must be made about one’s health and family to indicate the
required level of respect” [ CITATION Eve10 \l 1033 ].

Time concept
Like many developing countries, the concept of being on time is somewhat of a joke. It is quite
normal and expected for one to be late for everything. The lateness in work and meeting is expected
and usually one can expect that everyone will come an hour late. The buses also ran late.

Lifestyle & Attitudes & Entertaining the Clients:

The Republic has a laid back lifestyle. Even though secular in nature, they celebrate many
Christianity events. The major holidays that the Congolese celebrate are Christmas, All Saints Day,

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 Easter, New Year, Tree Day (6th March), Independence day (15th August) and National Reconciliation (10th
June). At major festivals meat (usually chicken) is eaten and Plum Wine and beer is consumed.

Recommendations
My recommendation for an expatriate going to the Republic of Congo is very limited due to the
lack of availability of information on the Republic. Even though the people are polite, positive and
considerate to elders, there is a lot of discrimination in the country. The country is still engulfed in
corruption.

Based on my research, the country exports continued to be dominated by oil exports,

representing more than 85 percent of the total exports 5. Meat is a rarity and one has to be careful not to
offer animal that is the totem for the individual or community. The country lacks a steady flow of
tourism, therefore the only viable business opportunities lies in its natural resources, which include
crude oil and timber.

COUNTRY BUSINESS FACT GRID

The Republic of the Congo
CULTURAL
1. Major Religion 1. Christian (50%)
2. Animist (48%)
3. Muslim (2%)
2. National French
Language
3. Business French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages),
Languages many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo is the most widespread)
4. English Language English is also spoken but is not a predominant language of communication.
Status
POLITICAL
5. Government Type Republic
6. Membership in 10 International Monetary Fund
world World Health Organization
organizations United Nations
Economic Community of Central African States
International Organization of the French-speaking World
International Criminal Police Organization
World Trade Organization
International Trade Union Confederation
Central African States Development Bank
International Organization for Migration
GEOGRAPHICAL
7. AETUSAS Total: 342,000 sq km
5
Congo Republic. (n.d.). Retrieved March 2010, from OECD: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/26/3/38562373.pdf

Page 7 of 11
 land: 341,500 sq km
Water: 500 sq km
Comparative – slightly smaller than Montanai
8. Population 4,012,809 (July 2009 est)
Slightly more than the population of Puerto Rico, USAii
9. Time Difference GMT +1; UTC+1 (six hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
10. Flying time from No direct flights
JFK, NY to Host 38hrs 25min, with a connecting flight to 3 countries before final destination.
The initial is always at Amsterdam, Netherlands (AMS) and the last one
before final destination is Paris, France(CDG) and the final stop is at
Brazzaville, Congo(BZV)
11. Climate tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October);
persistent high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate
astride the Equator
12. Average Since the country is located on the Equator, the climate is consistent year-
temperature round, with the average day temperature being a humid 24 °C (75.2 °F) and
nights generally between 16 °C (60.8 °F) and 21 °C (69.8 °F). The average
yearly rainfall ranges from 1,100 millimetres (43.3 in) in south in the Niari
valley to over 2,000 millimetres (78.7 in) in central parts of the country. The
dry season is from June to August while in the majority of the country the wet
season has two rainfall maxima: one in March–May and another in
September–November
SOCIAL
13. National Bird None
14. National Flower None
15. National Animal None
ECONOMICAL
16. Gross Domestic $ 10.7 billion (2008)
Product Hungary - $ 155 billion (2008)
Pakistan – $ 168 billion (2008)
India - $ 1.22 trillion (2008)
USA - $ 14.2 trillion (2008)
17. GNP $ 11.2 billion (2008)
Hungary - $ 179 billion (2008)
Pakistan – $ 449 billion (2008)
India - $ 3.37 trillion (2008)
USA - $ 14.3 trillion (2008)
18. Purchasing Power GDP (purchasing power parity):
Parity $16.74 billion
Hungary - $186.3 billion
Pakistan - $448.1 billion
India - $3.561 trillion
USA - $14.26 trillion (2009 est.)
(2009 est.)
19 Real Purchasing GDP – per capital (PPP):
Power Parity $4,200 (2009 est.)

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 Hungary - $18,800
Pakistan - $2,600
India - $3,100
USA - $46,400
(2009 est.)
20. Balance Of Current Account: -713; Capital Account: 16; Financial Account: 189; Net
Payment Errors & Omissions: -243; Reserves & Related Items: -60
(2007 estimated)6
21. Balance of Trade 2008 Est. – Percent of GDP
Imports: 24.7; Exports: 73.5; Balance of Trade: 48.9

22. National Budget Revenues: $3.431 billion

Expenditures: $2.723 billion (2009 est.)

23. National Debt External debt: $ 5 billion (2000 est.)

24. Inflation 4% (2009 est.), 7.3% (2008 est.)
25. Money Unit Name Cooperation Financiere en Afrique Centrale francs (XAF)
26. Exchange Rate to 483.21 (2009)
$
27. Unemployment Unemployment is higher amongst women (20.6 per
cent) than men (18.1 per cent) in all economic strata.iii
28. Growth rate 7.5% (2009 est.)

Bibliography
Congo Republic. (n.d.). Retrieved March 2010, from OECD:
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/26/3/38562373.pdf

Fegley, R. (1993). Congo. ABC-Clio.

IMF Country Report No. 08/173 . (2008, June). Retrieved from International Monetary Fund:
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2008/cr08173.pdf

Mukenge, T. (2002). Culture and Customs of the Congo. Greenwood Press.

Nwanna, G. I. (1998). Do's and Don'ts Around the World : A Country Guide to Cultural and Social Taboos
and Etiquette.

Republic of Congo (EveryCulture.com). (n.d.). Retrieved March 2010, from EveryCulture.com:

http://www.everyculture.com/Bo-Co/Republic-of-Congo.html

Republic of the Congo (Wikipedia.org). (n.d.). Retrieved March 2010, from Wikipedia.org:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_the_Congo
6
IMF Country Report No. 08/173 . (2008, June). Retrieved from International Monetary Fund:
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2008/cr08173.pdf

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The World Factbook. (n.d.). Retrieved March 2010, from CIA.gov:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cf.html

Virginia Thompson, R. A. (1984). Historical Dictionary of the People's Republic of the Congo. Scarecrow
Pr.

Consultant: Saqib Ismail

Code: 9
Course: INBS 501

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i
CIA.gov. February 28th 2010. <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cf.html>
ii
Wikipedia.org. February 28th 2010.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_population>
iii
OECD.org. February 28th 2010. <http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/26/3/38562373.pdf>