Reconciling perceived risk and vast opportunity in emerging markets is nothing new, especially in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The sub-Saharan African country continues to struggle with reputational issues around instability and corruption, while being home to a largely unbanked population.
Banks have not been out of the spotlight either. In 2017, the DRC subsidiary of Gabon-based BGFIBank Group was ensnared in controversy following leaked internal documents linking it to former president Joseph Kabila’s family, as well as the financing of Hezbollah, the Lebanese political party which is on the EU’s list of terrorist organisations.
