Financial exclusion of the poor in Africa

The exclusion of the poor by commercial banks has been explained by classical and neo-institutionalist economists, who base their arguments on the imperfection of the financial market and the opportunistic behaviour of micro, small and medium-sized entrepreneurs. In this book, the author highlights other phenomena not taken into account by these theories in the context of highly imperfect markets such as that of the DRC. The author first outlines the causes of the exclusion of the Congolese population from the financial system, from the days of the Independent State of the Congo to the present day. He then describes the structure of demand for and supply of financial services. Finally, he proposes the model for integrating the informal sector into the budget and gross domestic product (MISIB-GDP) as a tool for developing a financial system that is inclusive, integrated and accessible to all.