UNCDF Policy Accelerator

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CEMAC panel: 23 proposals to accelerate the financial inclusion of women in Central Africa

Alexis Ditkowsky

Women in the CEMAC region are still largely excluded from the formal financial sector. In June 2021, our CEMAC advisory panel shared 23 proposals for accelerating women’s financial inclusion with regulators and public decision-makers in the region. Now they are collaborating to turn these recommendations into changes to policy and regulation.

Women continue to be excluded from financial services

Despite recent efforts to promote the financial inclusion of women in the CEMAC region, on average 74% of them were excluded from the formal financial sector in 2017 according to World Bank data. In addition, the women’s voices are often absent from the process of developing related public policies and regulations.

In this context, in early 2021, UNCDF created an advisory panel on “Women and Digital Financial Services (DFS)” to facilitate regular dialogue between civil society representatives from each of the six CEMAC countries (Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea) and regulators and public decision-makers in the region.

Panel members tackled specific issues in working groups and benefited from external training on stakeholder negotiation from the FLPFI program of the Tufts University and on the regulatory framework on consumer protection from Professor Kalieu Elongo, Associate Professor of Law at Dschang University in Cameroon.

The panel ultimately developed action plans for regulators and public decision-makers focused on:

  1. Improving access to DFS by women

  2. Strengthening financial and digital education for women

  3. Protecting women as consumers of DFS

The plans were designed to enable the public sector to take concrete steps to increase access and use of DFS, focusing on safety, sustainability, and affordability and adapted to the specific financial needs of women. (Please see below for the full list of recommendations.)

Working with regulators to improve access to DFS

On June 16, 2021, members of the panel presented their recommendations and took part in discussion sessions with regional and national regulators and key players, including representatives of the Bank of Central African States (BEAC), National Economic and Financial Committees (CNEF), telecoms regulatory authorities and ministries of finance and the ministries of Posts, Telecommunications and the Digital Economy of the different countries.

As a direct result of their presentation to regulators, members of the panel were invited to participate in the development of the Regional Strategy for Financial Inclusion plan, hosted by BEAC and PHB. In addition, UNCDF will organize public-private dialogues in September with national decision-makers and private sector stakeholders to discuss the panel's proposals and specific actions that can be taken to improve financial inclusion at the national level.

Full list of proposals

Improve women’s access to DFS

  1. Create low-amount capped mobile money accounts with no identification requirements

  2. Set up a one-stop shop dedicated to financial inclusion within town halls

  3. Establish a tax regime conducive to the development of DFS

  4. Lighten the tax regime for SMEs and start-ups owned by women

  5. Provide a guarantee fund for women

  6. Strengthen parity in the governance of financial institutions

  7. Encourage the collection and analysis of data disaggregated by gender in the public and private sectors

  8. Encourage competition and fair access to DFS

Strengthen financial and digital education

  1. Develop a Regional Financial Education Program Strategic Framework document

  2. Adopt the principle of integrating digital and financial education into school curricula

  3. Organize regional training of trainers workshops

  4. Set up a general public financial education program

  5. Set up a digital literacy program for the general public, especially for women

  6. Set up a communication and awareness strategy for the attention of the population

  7. Involve women managers or leaders in the promotion of financial inclusion

Protect women who use digital financial services

  1. Improve access to and familiarisation of information

  2. Better supervise the protection of personal data and cybersecurity

  3. Ensure the effectiveness of complaints and redress mechanisms

  4. Identify civil society associations with expertise in the protection of financial consumers

  5. Build the capacities of consumer protection associations and women's associations

  6. Improve collaboration between stakeholders

  7. Increase the representation of consumer associations within political and regulatory decision-making bodies

  8. Improve the supervision of consumer protection associations

The next few months

As the panel continues its work over the next few months, we hope to support the participants in translating their insights and experiences into work that can be taken up by public sector decision-makers. 

If you have ideas from how to improve women’s financial inclusion in the CEMAC region, please don’t hesitate to contact us. 

Authors

Alexis Ditkowsky