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Prior to our involvement in Kisengo, its mining process was old-fashioned and the community did not have access to stable health and educational resources. Our investments have modernized the mine, making it more efficient and safer for the workers. We have built a new hospital for the people of Kisengo that has attended to over 30,000 cases in the last 30 months. We have built a new school that now has 1,492 students and outfitted with resources to continue operating. We have established access to clean water, installed solar powered street lights and refurbished basic infrastructure (roads and bridges). We have not stopped there and continually strive to make our investments in Kisengo more impactful and self-sustaining. The business value is clear: through this initiative we now better control our costs and supply a wide range of tantalum powders to support market demand. The economic benefit to KEMET alone is ‘multiple multiples’ of what we have invested in the village to improve the life of the miners and their families. We have shown that it is possible to succeed while being economically and socially responsible.The DRC has vital natural resources that drive the creation of economic value. These resources and their local communities must be cherished and protected. Dodd-Frank has helped companies like KEMET to embrace this need and envision better solutions for our stakeholders. I believe that we have had and will continue to have a positive impact. To learn more about our efforts, I encourage you to visit www.kisengofoundation.org. ■ABOUT THE AUTHORPer Loof joined KEMET in 2005 as the Chief Executive Officer and is a member of the Board of Directors. He has served as Honorary Consul of Sweden for the State of Florida since he received his exequatur status from the United States Department of State in 2006. Mr Loof was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of The Year® 2012 in the Carolinas and the South Florida Business Journal 2012 Broward Ultimate CEO. In 2014, Mr Loof was elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA). Most recently, he was inducted into Nova Southeastern University’s H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business & Entrepreneurship, Business and Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame. He is active in many civic and charitable organizations and his positions include: Member of the Board of the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children, member of the Board of Governors for the Boca Raton Regional Hospital, a Livery man and Freeman of the City of London and a Founding Member of the Guild of Security Professionals, City of London. Mr Loof has an MSc in Economics from the Stockholm School of Economics.Pictured: Per LoofAbove: Per Loof, the CEO of KEMET, with children of Kisengo. Through the Kisengo Foundation, KEMET has enriched the lives of residents in this mining community with a new school, medical clinic, fresh-water wells, solar street lights and some infrastructure improvements.