MAP Democratic Republic of the Congo
The findings of MAP DRC’s 2016 reports show that the majority of Congolese are financially stressed. 71% of FinScope respondents reported the necessity to “often” or “sometimes” go without food or medical treatment, or have to take children out of school. In rural areas, that figure rose to 79%. More than 45% reported not having enough income, while approximately 30% reported irregular or unreliable income as problematic.
The DRC may be one of the most challenging environments for financial services. From both a provider and consumer perspective, infrastructure, a rapidly changing financial services landscape and regional disparities pose significant challenges to the market.
In 2014, the DRC Ministry of Finance formally requested UNCDF’s support for its ongoing financial inclusion agenda. It was agreed that MAP DRC should form the basis for the development of a multi-stakeholder roadmap for financial inclusion, which in turn would be leveraged as a vehicle towards an integrated financial inclusion strategy in DRC.
MAP DRC was funded by FinMark Trust and UNCDF in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Belgium Cooperation. It was rolled out under the guidance of the MAP coordinating committee, chaired by the DRC Ministry of Finance, and including representatives from the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank, the National Statistics Agency, selected FSPs, industry associations, development agencies and donors.
Download the synthesis note
Download the roadmap
