FINCA Results

Measuring Our Impact

Social Performance Management

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  • Approach
    • FINCA’s Mission
    • Survey Methodology
    • Data Sources
  • Indicators
    • Financial Inclusion
    • Living Standards
    • Income & Employment
    • Women’s Empowerment
    • Clients’ Goals
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    • Africa
      • DRC
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      • Kyrgyzstan
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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.

Explore DRC Data ↓

Financial Inclusion

DRC:
Reaching the Financially Excluded

85% Adult population financially excluded The rate of financial exclusion is higher than the regional average (70%).
23,439 40% Female borrowers % #
328,946 Total FINCA clients FINCA DRC has more than 8 times as many savers as borrowers.
11,719 20% Borrowers in rural areas Efforts are underway to reach more rural areas, but they are hindered by instability and violence in the countryside. % #
58,594 Total FINCA borrowers

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.

View All Financial Inclusion Data

Living Standards

DRC:
Quality of Life

26,953 46% Client homes without water The DRC, Africa’s most “water-rich” country, is facing an acute water supply crisis with considerable social and public health consequences. Nearly half (46%) of FINCA’s borrowers lack access to safe drinking water. % #
9,375 16% Client homes without electricity % #
28,125 48% Client homes without access to Internet % #
30,469 52% Clients who don’t own their home % #
6,355 11% Head of household with primary education or less Among FINCA borrowers, 89% live in a household headed by someone with greater than primary education. % #

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.

View All Living Standards Data

Income & Employment

DRC:
Income & Employment

$6,344 19% Average annual profit % #
2.2 Average # of employees per client enterprise
131,090 People employed in FINCA-funded enterprises
33,242 25% Employees hired due to FINCA loan % #
56,369 43% Wages paid above the poverty line % #
Explore FINCA Loan Sectors
View All Income & Employment Data

Women’s Empowerment

DRC:
Empowering Women

23,439 40% Female borrowers % #
6,387 11% Clients with female-headed household % #
19,692 34% Households with female as main earner % #
33,164 56.6% Businesses run by women % #
56,250 43% Women employed by enterprises Avg. #
50,135 38% Jobs created by 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.

View All Women’s Empowerment Data

Clients’ Goals

DRC:
Attaining Business and Personal Goals

Goals Set By FINCA Borrowers
Goals Met By FINCA Borrowers
10,137 17% Start a business % #
30,410 52% Expand a business % #
4,570 8% Invest in education % #
3,691 6% Improve their home % #
3,281 6% Buy an asset % #
2,988 5% Pay down debts % #
8,383 83% Start a business % #
23,386 77% Expand a business % #
3,830 84% Invest in education % #
2,680 73% Improve their home % #
41,016 70% Buy an asset % #
2,636 88% Pay down debts % #
View All Clients’ Goals Data

Business Activities and Profit

DRC:
Poverty, Economic Sectors, Jobs and Profits

FINCA Loan Sectors

49,863 85% Trade % #
6,563 11% Services % #
1,113 2% Manufacturing % #
527 1% Crops % #
469 1% Livestock % #

Profit and Profit/Sales Ratio by Sector

$6,481 19% Trade Profit/sales ratio Avg. profit
5,384 17% Services Profit/sales ratio Avg. profit
$9,813 18% Manufacturing Profit/sales ratio Avg. profit
$1,622 16% Crops Profit/sales ratio Avg. profit
$3,145 40% Livestock Profit/sales ratio Avg. profit

Jobs by Sector Due to FINCA Loan

29,918 90% Trade % #
2347 7% Services % #
530 2% Manufacturing % #
316 1% Crops % #
130 0% Livestock % #

Africa Stories

FINCA DR Congo Client Nene

A Financial Product Just for Her

Nene is thriving as an entrepreneur thanks to a new FINCA loan product targeted at women in the Democratic Republic of the...
Read Nene's Story
BrightLife-client-Aidah-Asiimwe-with-family

BrightLife Solves a COVID-19 Catch-22

Aidah Asiimwe is grateful to BrightLife for turning on her lights free of charge during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read her story.
Read Aidah's Story
Eugenie Kabeya_Client_FINCA DRC

Beating the Odds During COVID-19

FINCA DR Congo client Eugénie Kabeya, a seamstress, has beaten the odds by staying in business despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Find out...
Read Eugénie's Story

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