Uduakobong Inyang

Recent figures from the World Bank (2016) shows that an estimated 767 million people are extremely poor globally and that more than 50% (389 million) of the world’s poor live in sub-Sahara Africa. This figure shows that the population of extreme poor living in sub-Sahara Africa is almost double of what it was four decades ago (205 million) raising concerns on ways that this trend can be reversed as the world aims at ending extreme poverty by 2030 according to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. Against this backdrop, development finance, which aims at providing financial solutions to, issues of poverty in particular and development in general, is still at its infancy. In contributing to development finance literature, we explore the link between household characteristics, savings and credit behaviours in the Niger delta region of Nigeria in sub-Sahara Africa. The study uses primary data gathered from household survey. A logistic model that is based on relevant household demographics and household distance from a formal lender is developed for estimation. We specifically seek a more precise understanding of the influence of household characteristics on the choice of formal versus informal credit providers as well as savings behaviour of households, which have the potential to influence financial market policy and practice in developing economies.