The central bank is banking on the regional financial inclusion strategy which is based on several axes, including support for innovation and the development of digital financial services in the sub-region.
In 2021, the financial inclusion rate is 32% in the Cemac zone, according to data from the Bank of Central African States (BEAC). That is 47% for Gabon, 45% for Cameroon, 10% for Equatorial Guinea, 5% for Chad, 4% for Congo and 3% for the CAR. For the authorities, these figures remain very low and must be revised upwards, by promoting access to financial services for as many people as possible.
The BEAC’s approach to increasing these rates is based on the regional financial inclusion strategy developed over the period 2023-2027 with the support of the World Bank. This strategy has six axes including education and protection of financial services consumers, promotion and facilitation of innovation in the use of digital financial services. This last point essentially concerns support for the development of fintechs which today provide digital financial solutions, going beyond what traditional financial institutions offer. The BEAC 2023-2027 financial inclusion strategy therefore provides for various actions to boost innovation and financial education among populations. These include, among other things, the establishment of an investment fund for start-ups in the digital financial services (fintech) sector, as well as provisions to encourage technical and financial assistance for players in the digital financial services (fintech) sector. digital finance. There is also the establishment of the regional innovation office responsible for organizing conferences on innovation in the field of digital finance.
This is accompanied by regulatory reforms. We can cite the adoption of the regulation on payment institutions and that on consumer protection, the introduction in 2018 of a new category of establishments authorized to provide payment services without being backed by a bank.
The overall objective of the strategy is to increase the rate of financial inclusion in Cemac to 60% by 2027, and to 75% by 2030. We want 75% of the CEMAC population to be able to have a bank account, a payment account and an electronic payment instrument. This year we began to deploy our financial inclusion strategy which was adopted by all CEMAC countries. There remains a small brick for the ecosystem, the infrastructure to be complete. This is payment. We do not yet know how to do acceptance with mobile money as we do with cards» explains BEAC’s director of operations, Jean-Clary Otoumou.
Four segments of the population are targeted by this strategy: women, young people, MSMEs and rural populations. These categories are considered vulnerable segments of the population or financially excluded. The objective of the BEAC today is therefore to enable access and use of a range of financial products and services adapted and affordable to these targets. And this should also involve the promotion of national financial inclusion strategies. But, currently, only Chad, the CAR and Cameroon have a national inclusive finance or microfinance strategy, notes the central bank.
