DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

UNCDF has been present in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 2004, helping the country meet its development challenges by supporting programmes in areas of inclusive finance and local development finance.

Today, UNCDF offers catalytic finance models that unlock public and private resources in “last mile” environments, especially at the domestic level, to reduce poverty and support local economic development.

Through UNCDF's Least Developed Country Investment Platform (LDC-IP), we are working on capitalizing the "missing middle" for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), financial service providers and local infrastructure projects. The LDC-IP's main vehicle for support in the DRC is the BRIDGE Facility, UNCDF's on-balance sheet portfolio. As of 2020, nearly 20% of the BRIDGE Facility portfolio was investment in ventures based in the Democratic Republic of Congo, accounting for $650,000.

In previous periods, UNCDF supported greater financial inclusion in the DRC through the Making Access Possible programme, which creates space to convene a wide range of stakeholders around evidence-based country diagnostics and dialogue that leads to the development of national financial inclusion roadmaps. Additionally, from 2010 to 2015, UNCDF piloted YouthStart in partnership with Mastercard Foundation with the objective to increase access to integrated financial services for youth aged 12-24. YouthStart has provided technical and financial assistance to 10 financial institutions in 8 Sub-Saharan countries. By the end of the Programme (2015), YouthStart tripled its targets reaching more than 635,000 youth with financial and non-financial services.