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Informal credit arrangements have been perceived as being exploitative because they charge high interest rates thus subjecting the poor to perpetual situation of indebtedness. Notwithstanding such perceptions, empirical evidence from selected low income settlements of urban Tanzania shows that informal credit arrangements provide insurance against livelihood insecurity to the urban poor. This article makes a case about how informal credit arrangements are able to provide the urban poor with livelihood security.


African Journal of Finance and Management Vol.7(2) 1999: 85-97