This was at the Session titled: “Achieving Financial Integration in Africa for Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development” organised during the Ministerial Session of the 7th African Union Specialised Technical Committee (STC) on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration, held on 6 and 7 July 2024 in Tunis, Republic of Tunisia, under the auspices of the African Union.

Represented by the Minister of Labour and Social Security, Mr Grégoire Owona, and the Minister Delegate at the Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development (MINDEL/MINEPAT), Mr Paul Tasong, Cameroon actively took part in the Ministerial Meeting of the 7th STC. In his speech at the session entitled “Achieving financial integration in Africa for inclusive growth and sustainable development”, Mr Tasong presented Cameroon’s strategies for promoting financial integration in Central Africa. He also shared the lessons learned from the Cameroonian experience and initiatives to address the challenges of fragmented financial markets and regulatory frameworks in Africa.
Cameroon’s strategies stem from the guidelines of the 2030 National Development Strategy (“NDS30”), designed specifically for the transformation of the country’s financial sector. Since adopting the NDS30 in 2020, the government has undertaken several initiatives to boost the financial sector, including the adoption in May 2024 of the National Financial Sector Development Strategy, intended to raise capital for funding the NDS30, with needs estimated at nearly CFAF 88,000 billion.
Other key initiatives include the establishment of a CFAF 200 billion guarantee fund in 2023 to facilitate lending to local SMEs. A national financial inclusion strategy covering the period 2023-2027 has also been adopted. These actions are complementary to those of the Growth and Employment Strategy Paper (GESP), notably the 2019 law on credit activity in the banking and microfinance sectors and the launch of the process to have some public companies listed on the Central African Stock Exchange.
Concerning the fragmentation of financial markets, Cameroon is actively participating in the merger of the two financial markets in the CEMAC area. Mr Paul Tasong stressed that this issue is at the heart of the restructuring of the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in Central Africa, a process led by the President of the Republic of Cameroon, HE Paul Biya. At the 6th Meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Steering Committee for the Harmonisation of the RECs in Central Africa, draft protocols governing the high authorities of the financial and monetary markets in Central Africa were validated.