Both the Belgian Congo (Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and the Netherlands Indies (Indonesia) had a troubled passage to independence, and the immediate post-independence era in both countries was marked by considerable political and economic turmoil. By the late 1960s, two strong leaders, Mobutu and Suharto, had emerged who appeared to have much in common. But while Indonesia’s economic growth since 1970 has been quite robust, the Congo has seen a growth collapse which is extraordinary even by African standards. The paper suggests some explanations for this divergence in terms of policies pursued by the Dutch and Belgian colonial regimes, and by post-independence governments in both countries.