Welcome to our interview series featuring the CEMAC advisory panel. Each week, we’ll share insights from panelists on women's financial inclusion and consumer protection — and the role of public policy in creating better conditions within their regions.

This week, we hear from Love Vera GOZION and Carlos WAFO, both of whom are from Cameroon:

Love Vera GOZION EKOUME is an entrepreneur, supports young people and women in setting up businesses, and leads actions for financial empowerment and the inclusion of women in Cameroon.

Carlos WAFO is a banker by training with ten years of experience in the design and development of financial services targeting low-income people. In 2011, he participated in the launch of the first Mobile Money service in Cameroon, which now has more than one million subscribers and significantly contributed to the increase in banking.

Question 1: What do you think are the most important barriers to financial inclusion for women in your region?  

Love Vera GOZION EKOUME (LVGE): The most significant barriers to financial inclusion for women in my area are:

• The mismatch between the requirements related to financial services and the status of women (for example, the guarantees required, and especially the requirement of the husband's signature for granting funding)

• Lack of financial and digital education

• Legal barriers to ownership, inheritance of goods and other guarantees

• Lack of access to information

Carlos WAFO (CW): Social prejudices and norms limit women's demand for financial services. Most of the time, women are not expected to gain financial independence. They are not encouraged in this direction.

Women have less access to technology. Despite a very high penetration rate of mobile telephony, the probability of a woman owning a cell phone is much lower than that of a man.

Question 2: Why is consumer protection important, especially for women? 

LVGE: Protecting consumers means protecting them from situations that could either harm their development or impoverish them even more.

Women, by virtue of their level of education and their culture, may not be fully aware of the commitments they are making. So, to protect them, it is therefore important to start with a real financial education that will allow them not only to understand, but also and above all not to further impoverish them for the benefit of financial institutions.

CW: Consumer protection is important because it protects women against illicit practices such as abuse of weakness and unfair terms.

It helps educate women, particularly regarding the socioeconomic and environmental impact of the choices they make (protection against risks to their health and safety). It enables women to access the information they need to make an informed choices, according to their wants and needs.

Question 3. How can you effectively advocate for public policies and regulations that consider the needs of women? 

LVGE: It is first of all necessary to organize real awareness-raising around these policies so that they are known to as many people as possible and applied properly. But it is also necessary that the staff for these programs are well trained.

For my part, the best way to advocate for these policies is to enlist activist associations focused on women’s development and create one-stop shops for female entrepreneurship.

CW: We can lobby in favor of new legislation and reforms guaranteeing women's fair access to financial life. Ensuring professional equality and gender diversity are also important actions to help put an end to discrimination against women.

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