Measuring Our Impact
DRC
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with more than 79 million people, is the second largest country in Africa. It is also among the poorest in the world. Over 60 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. Successive armed conflicts, continuing to date, have internally displaced millions of people, many of whom have out-migrated to neighboring countries and beyond. Financial exclusion might not be the most pressing problem in DRC, but it makes all the others hard to solve.
FINCA's client base embodies the contradictions of life under extraordinarily difficult conditions. Most of our borrowers work in the vast city of Kinshasa or other cities, yet nearly half of them have no access to clean water. They live in comparatively well-educated households, but the majority don't own their home. Our clients in DRC have good prospects to gain a better quality of life, but they face major hurdles along the way.
Financial Inclusion
DRC:
Reaching the Financially Excluded
DRC presents enormous challenges to financial inclusion, including widespread poverty, lack of infrastructure, a sprawling geography and pervasive insecurity. Eighty-five percent of the population lacks access to a bank account, which is tied with Afghanistan as the highest rate of financial exclusion among FINCA countries. As a licensed bank, FINCA's biggest contribution is the provision of savings services, which reach over 274,000 people, providing the ease and security of a proper bank account for accumulating reserves.
Living Standards
DRC:
Quality of Life
Despite the fact that most of our borrowers live in cities and towns, they struggle with the basic necessities of life. Nearly half have no water in their homes, though electricity is generally available. A little more than half do not own their home, which deprives them of an important means to accumulate wealth. On the positive side, the borrowers in DRC are among the most highly educated in the entire FINCA network; only 11 percent live in a household with less than secondary education.
Income & Employment
DRC:
Income & Employment
Women’s Empowerment
DRC:
Empowering Women
The households we serve in DRC are different from their counterparts in the rest of Africa. Single-parent households are somewhat less common, although a disproportionate share of the women—44 percent—are their families' main source of income.
Clients’ Goals
DRC:
Attaining Business and Personal Goals
Business Activities and Profit
DRC:
Poverty, Economic Sectors, Jobs and Profits
FINCA Loan Sectors
Profit and Profit/Sales Ratio by Sector
Jobs by Sector Due to FINCA Loan
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