Increase financial inclusion for women in Central Africa: Voices from the UNCDF Advisory Panel
How can we develop inclusive digital financial services in the CEMAC region, where more than one in three women are excluded from formal financial services? And what role do policymakers play in ensuring services meet women's needs?
Members of our CEMAC Advisory Panel share concrete policy recommendations in their own words as part the of G7 Partnership for Women’s Digital Financial Inclusion in Africa and the Africa Policy Accelerator project.
Version of video with captions in English. See below for a version of the video with French captions.
Panel overview
Since March 2021, UNCDF has hosted representatives from more than 30 civil society organizations across the six CEMAC countries (Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic, Chad) who have collectively developed concrete policy solutions for the region. These proposals aim to ensure the regulatory environment supports the following outcomes:
Accelerate women's access to digital financial services
Strengthen financial and digital education
Improve consumer protection
Since our initial meetings, the panel has presented their recommendations to regional and national regulators and several participants have been invited to contribute to the regional financial inclusion strategy.
Voices from the panel
Delphine Nouind (Cameroun)
"Making digital financial services more accessible means finding alternative approaches for secure identification, and also providing affordable digital financial services for people on low incomes."
Isabelle Cuisenier-Kouzou (Centrafrique)
“Promoting digital financial inclusion requires establishing a regional strategy for financial and digital education for the general public.”
Angela Mba (Guinée Equatoriale)
“It’s important to increase the involvement of female leaders in strategies to promote digital financial inclusion in CEMAC countries.”
Virginie Mounanga (Gabon)
“Digital education for women must be reinforced so that they can take charge of digital tools while using digital financial services.”
Antoinette Koudjal (Tchad)
“Let's focus on financial education for women to equip them with the skills needed to benefit from digital financial products and services.”
Agnès Ounounou (Congo)
“We must increase the representativeness of consumer and women's rights organizations within public decision-making bodies.”
Watch the video
With English subtitles
With French subtitles
One part of a participatory processes to advance financial inclusion
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, accelerating women’s financial inclusion is more crucial than ever. We’re honored to contribute to this work as part of the G7 Partnership for Women’s Digital Financial Services in Africa and our Africa Policy Accelerator project.
Authors
Alexis Ditkowsky
Annie Mutamba