Youssoufou Congo

I have both a PhD in Economics from University of Liege and a PhD in Agricultural Economics from the CIRES/National University of Cote d’Ivoire. I am a research associate at the Project “Observatoire de l’économie sociale”, Unité de Formation et de Recherches en Sciences Economiques et de Gestion, University of Ouagadougou, and Founder & Director of IRFAD (Institut de Recherche, Formation et Actions pour le Développement). I have spent months visiting the World Institute for Development Economics Research and The Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies. I previously served as research associate at the Center for Social Economy, University of Liege, and as senior economist at the Center for Microfinance Research in Luxembourg. I also served as microcredit specialist for some Burkina Faso-based microfinance projects while teaching courses on Monetary Economics, Statistics, and Applied Mathematics at the Faculty of Economics and Management, University of Ouagadougou.

I am co-author of two books (« Le rôle du crédit agricole dans le développement rural et l'amélioration de la sécurité alimentaire en Afrique : le cas du Burkina Faso » and « Ajustement structurel et sécurité alimentaire en Afrique : le cas du Burkina Faso, du Mali et du Niger ») and author of more than twenty book chapters, journal articles, professional presentations, and research reports on microfinance and micro-enterprise development, agriculture and rural development, and nonprofits in Africa.

During my stay at the African Studies Centre, I will work on the manuscript of my book entitled “La performance des institutions de microfinance africaines : le cas des caisses populaires du Burkina Faso” with the goal of publication. More specifically, I intend (i) to continue analyzing data collected on the field in Burkina Faso; (ii) to conduct additional library and archival research with the objective to strengthen the review of literature; and (iii) to complete the last two chapters of the book. In addition, I will write a research proposal entitled “Do Microfinancial Markets Help Small Peasants in Sahel Countries Cope with High Weather and Economic Risks?” in cooperation with colleagues of the theme group “Economy, Ecology and Exclusion”.