ABSTRACT This paper examines the relationship between microfinance institutions and the poor in Beira-Mozambique and the benefits accruing from the established relationships. The study focuses on access to credit and the promotion of entrepreneurship among the target group. The study concludes that the institutions and the target group, especially active clients, treasure close long-term relationships and strive to build and sustain such relationships. However, the relationships have thus far had only a limited, albeit promising, impact on the sustainability of the institutions, access to credit and the promotion of entrepreneurship among the target group. Another major finding is that clients already in the credit relationship do not have serious problems accessing credit upon successful repayment of previous loans. However, those seeking to enter credit relationships face strict entry requirements. In short entering credit relationships is more difficult than staying in them.

Durant les dernières décennies, le financement relationnel a fortement évolué. Il n’est plus considéré maintenant comme un simple mécanisme de réduction de l’asymétrie d’information. Cependant, de nombreuses questions restent non résolues. Quels sont ses déterminants ? Son utilisation impacte-t-elle de la même façon tous les agents ? Quels sont les substituts possibles ? La thèse s’organise autour de ces axes. Le premier chapitre traite de l’impact de la compétition bancaire sur la mise en place du financement relationnel. Le second chapitre s’intéresse à l’utilisation de ce financement par les minorités. Enfin, le troisième chapitre analyse la substitution potentielle entre crédit fournisseur et financement relationnel. En utilisant deux bases de données, l’une sur des PME américaines, l’autre des italiennes, nous montrons empiriquement que : 1. La concurrence interbancaire influence de manière non-linéaire le financement relationnel. Les banques favorisent un financement relationnel quand la compétition est faible, transactionnel quand elle s’intensifie avec un retour au relationnel en cas de forte compétition. Ce résultat est cohérent avec la vision du relationnel bancaire comme mécanisme de protection contre la compétition, tant qu’elle n’est pas trop intense. 2. Si l’utilisation du financement relationnel augmente dans un premier temps la discrimination subie par les minorités ethniques, celle-ci diminue avec le temps. Cela démontre la validité de la théorie psychologique du contact en finance. 3. Les entreprises opaques n’ayant pas accès au financement relationnel utilisent plus de crédit fournisseur. Celui-ci peut être vu comme un financement relationnel / Over the past decades, the definition of relationship banking has greatly evolved. It is no longer considered as a simple mechanism used to reduce information asymmetry. However, many questions remain. What are its determinants? Does its use impact all agents in the same way? What are its potential substitutes? This thesis is organized around these themes. The first chapter examines the impact of banking competition on relationship lending technology. The second chapter studies the use of relationship lending technology by minorities. Finally, the third chapter analyzes the potential substitution between relationship lending technology and trade credit. Using two different databases - the first one composed of US SMEs, the second of Italian SMEs - we empirically show that: 1. Banking competition impacts non-linearly the use of relationship lending technology. Banks favor relationship lending when competition is weak, transactional lending when it increases then return to relationship lending in case of strong competition. 2. If the use of relationship lending technology tends to first increase discrimination against minorities, this discrimination decreases with time. This result could be analyzed as an empirical validation of the psychological theory of contacts in finance. 3. Opaque firms without an access to relationship lending technology use more trade credit. Trade credit can be seen as a relationship lending technology

The potential of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in promoting economic growth in both developed and developing countries is widely accepted and documented by both scholars and policy makers. Particularly lacking are studies on the evidence in support of the importance of credit rationing to the sustainability of SMEs in an emerging economy like South Africa’s. This specific problem, especially in the developing countries, has been identified as the major bottleneck in realising socio-economic potentials of SMEs in those countries. However, one of the major ways of addressing the challenge of inadequate funding that exists within the SME sector is the use of bank credit. This study was therefore undertaken to explore the role of commercial banks in the provision of credit to the SMEs in South Africa. This study focuses on the issue of the relationship between the banking industry and SMEs. In particular, the problem of credit rationing of, and discrimination against SMEs by commercial banks was investigated. Because credit rationing and finance gaps can stem from imperfections on either supply-side (banks), or demand-side (SMEs), or both, the intention of the study was to examine both of these variables in order to uncover the implications of their relationships. The empirical analysis is based on survey data collected by means of a structured questionnaire which was distributed amongst banks and SME borrowers in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. Contrary to the general view that commercial banks are disinclined to provide credit to SMEs, the study found that South African banks are keen to serve the SMEs and are therefore making efforts to penetrate this potentially profitable market segment. However, several obstacles are potentially restricting the involvement of banks with SMEs in South Africa. The findings revealed that regulations such as the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA) and the National Credit Act (NCA) came out strongly as major hindrances of bank financing to SMEs. Furthermore, it was shown that compliance with the NCA was ranked higher than credit history and profitability as a factor hindering the approval of SME loans. - iii - However, by using the structural equation modelling (SEM), the results also show that there is a positive and significant influence of lending technology and collateral on the supply of credit to SMEs. Variables such as creditworthiness, collateral and e-banking were found to have a positive and significant impact on the provision of credit to SMEs by commercial banks. For both the supply- and demand-side analysis, technology came out as the most important predictor of SME access to finance. This means that banks should strive to align their lending techniques with the dynamic technological developments so as to reach as many SMEs as possible even in the geographically dispersed regions. It is anticipated that improving SME access to bank credit could be the key to the growth and sustainability of SMEs, the alleviation of poverty and unemployment; and consequently leading to the growth of the South African economy. / Business Management / D. Com. (Business Management)