Unruly entrepreneurs–investigating value creation by microfinance clients in rural Burundi

Katarzyna Cieslik, Marek Hudon and Philip Verwimp

ULB Institutional Repository from ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles

Abstract: This study explores the entrepreneurial potential of the rule-breaking practices of microfinance programs’ beneficiaries. Using the storyboard methodology, we examine the strategies employed by the poor in Burundi to bypass institutional rules. Based on 66 short interviews conducted in seven rural provinces of Burundi, our exploratory study analyzes the entrepreneurial potential in four instances of rule-evasion: consumption spending, illegitimate investment, loan juggling and loan arrogation. We argue that some of the unruly practices are in fact entrepreneurial, as they create tangible and intangible value for the rural poor at both household and community levels. These include strengthening social ties through gift exchange and ceremonies, which then help poor households to self-insure against shocks through social networks. By analyzing the push and pull factors for unruly behavior, we show that rule-breaking practices are often necessitated by the microfinance industry itself and call for increased flexibility and adaptability of microfinance products.

Keywords: Burundi; entrepreneurship; Microfinance; rule-breaking; subsistence communities (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019-10-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr and nep-mfd
Note: SCOPUS: ar.j
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published in: Oxford development studies (2019)

Downloads: (external link)
https://dipot.ulb.ac.be/dspace/bitstream/2013/287266/3/Unruly_entrepreneurs.pdf Œuvre complète ou partie de l'œuvre (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ulb:ulbeco:2013/287266

Ordering information: This working paper can be ordered from
http://hdl.handle.ne ... lb.ac.be:2013/287266

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in ULB Institutional Repository from ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Benoit Pauwels ().