Final Report/Synopsis of Research Results

One of the biggest challenges for economic development practitioners to surmount in Juba is that of currency exchange related to cross-border transactions. Because there is so little (albeit rapidly developing) infrastructure, everything from food to building materials must be imported from neighboring countries. Business people incur losses in each transaction, currency exchange, and cash transfer. These are important issues for microfinance institutions to think critically about. Microfinance institutions should consider disbursing loans in different currencies based on the needs of their clients. At this point, they are unable due to the limits of the central bank’s monitoring, international monetary standards, and changing flows of desired currencies. Therefore, the onus of these transfers and projected losses in exchange is on the clients.