Informal finance in rural Niger : scope, magnitudes and organization

This is even more true for informal financial markets. This paper attempts to redress this state of affairs by documenting key informal financial activity in the country. This documentation is derived from three separate field surveys carried out in Niger in 1985 and 1986 by a team of researchers under the direction of Ohio State University and the Institut de Recherches en Sciences Humaines of Niger. The first section of this paper draws upon the findings of these field surveys and presents an overview of formal and informal financial services in rural Niger. The next section explores the network of merchant finance in the countryside. These data clarify the separate roles and magnitudes of wholesale and retail finance. This is followed by a detailed review of tontines and moneykeepers, the classic forms of indigenous financial intermediation at the village level. The final section summarizes the strengths and limitations of formal and informal finance in rural Niger and draws conclusions concerning the prospects for building down from formal structures or building up from an informal base. (Author abstract)