The New Conceptual Framework for the Integration of the Informal Sector into the Budget and Gross Domestic Product of the DRC: Keys to the Competitiveness of Congolese SMEs on Regional Markets

Democratic Republic of Congo, with its nine borders, is a member of more than five regional economic communities. It has a very large informal sector that represents a significant share of the Congolese economy, particularly in rural and urban areas. Unfortunately, the many activities of informal Micro, Small and Medium Entreprises (MSMEs) are not taken into account in the calculation of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which represents a significant bias. As a result, the DRC's GDP is significantly underestimated because it does not account for this significant share of economic activity. This can distort economic analyses and public policies, as decision-makers rely on incomplete data. It is therefore essential to take the informal sector into account to gain a more accurate picture of the Congolese economy and its challenges. This could also help better guide public policies to support these economic actors and promote their inclusion in the formal economic system and their competitiveness in regional markets. The objective of this article is to present a new conceptual framework called the Informal Sector Budget and GDP Integration Model, or Model for Integrating the Informal Sector into the Budget and Gross Domestic Product (MISIB-GDP). Its development is based on a literature review and the role and importance of the informal sector in developing economies, using a macroeconomic and microeconomic approach to calculate GDP and budget allocation at the provincial and national levels.