The development of microfinance in Cameroon: Focus on regulation

Steffi Sandra Singhe (1) , Céline Louche (2)

1 LEMNA - Laboratoire d'économie et de management de Nantes Atlantique
2 Audencia Business School

While the microfinance regulations in Cameroon have a positive influence in professionalizing the microfinance sector, it seems to have also created hurdles for MFIs to fulfill their social mission of financial inclusion. The evolution of activities of the microfinance sector over the years led to changes in the regulatory environment through the establishment of new regulations that progressively professionalize the sector and controlled certain derives. Financial inclusion has been hindered by insufficient supervision and tight regulations in terms of board members' qualifications, loan documentation requirements, and provisioning and liquidity requirements. Regulations still need to reflect more the specificities of the microfinance sector and be matched with adequate supervision in order to achieve its dual role of financial inclusion and safeguarding the financial system.

Mots clés: cameroon; financial inclusion; microfinance regulatio

Domaines: Gestion et management

Steffi Sandra Singhe, Céline Louche. The development of microfinance in Cameroon: Focus on regulation. Strategic Change, 2020, 29 (3), pp.341-353. ⟨10.1002/jsc.2333⟩. ⟨hal-02562588⟩