Financing the Unbanked: How Community Savings Groups Can Create Pathways for Legal Artisanal Gold in Burkina Faso
Publisher: IMPACT
Author(s): Kady Seguin, Victoria Reichel, Raphael Deberdt
Date: 2023
Topics: Assessment, Extractive Resources, Gender, Livelihoods, Monitoring and Evaluation
Countries: Burkina Faso
This paper explores the connections between financial inclusion, formalization of artisanal miners, and illicit trade. The research demonstrates why financial inclusion is a crucial component of efforts to formalize the sector and encourage the use of legal sales channels. Further, it examines these issues from a gendered perspective, identifying the specific challenges for women in artisanal mining communities, and how an approach that centers women’s empowerment is necessary for equitable and sustainable formalization efforts.