NRC – EMMA on Credit, Rental and Water Market Systems, Urban Goma, DRC, Nov 2014 – Executive Summary

Hundreds of thousands of people are continuously forced to flee violence in eastern DRC due to armed groups attacks and inter-ethnic conflict. In the Kivus, the majority of the Internally Displaced People (IDPs) have been in a state of protracted and repeated displacement for many years. Urban IDP populations are unknown, but believed to be large, and the saturation of camps and sites around Goma means there is nowhere for newly displaced IDPs to receive assistance. In late 2013 NRC conducted an IDP profiling and needs assessment exercise in Goma city, looking at the living conditions of IDPs, host families, and residents. One of the main recommendations of this assessment was to conduct market analyses to identify constraints and opportunities in terms of livelihoods for the vulnerable displaced households, in order to identify more innovative ways to intervene through direct or indirect support to the households. The objective of this EMMA study was to conduct such a rapid market analysis and identify livelihood constraints and opportunities for vulnerable displaced households in the urban area of Goma (outside camps). The market analysis compared market functionality during a relatively stable time (before the end of 2012) and compared this to the current situation, following a large IDP influx. Three critical market systems were selected, on the basis of their importance in protecting and promoting livelihoods of the target groups: 1. Credit (formal and informal) market 2. Rental market 3. Water market

The target population for this study is composed of host families and displaced households in the quartiers of Kyeshero and Mabanga Sud, in urban Goma. Both these quartiers are currently covered by NRC urban project. The main findings of the study are presented in this report.