Financial Inclusion : Assuring Affordable, Sustainable Services For Underprivileged

“Sustainable development cannot be achieved without financial inclusion. We have to support women, youth and other vulnerable people to get involved in the development of the country. The only way to do this is to allow them access to financial services. There can be sustainable development without access to financial services. 

For Everyone To Access 
“There is no question of leaving anyone behind. The main issue is to make financial services easily available on platforms anyone can access – simple smart phones, tablets... Advanced applications are not necessary if they cannot be easily accessed,” explained Mr. Martin Hart-Hansen, Deputy Resident Representative for the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP Cameroon. 

Bridging The Gap
He spoke in the Cameroonian capital, Yaounde on Tuesday, August 27, 2024 at the opening of the first ever Cameroon financial inclusion conference. Organised by Yes Cameroon and the Ministry of Post and Telecommunication. The theme of the Cameroon Financial Inclusion Conference is “Bridging the gap: Financial inclusion and fintech for sustainable development.” It is being attended by over 300 stakeholders from different sectors of the financial inclusion ecosystem.

Over 300 Participants
The forum has assembled amongst others, telecommunication companies, mobile money operators, startups, entrepreneurs, banks, micro-finance institutions and international development organisations. Others are UN agencies, government ministries, policy experts, fintech and financial experts, women’s groups and associations, etc.

46 Per cent Internet Penetration
“Financial inclusion is the heart of all global transactions. Those who were previously excluded from the ecosystem now use digital platforms to carry out their financial transactions,” commented the Minister of Post and Telecommunication, Minette Libom Li Likeng. Who chaired and opened the conference. She stressed the importance of a regulatory framework in order for innovations in financial inclusion to attain their full potentials. “Government’s plan is for everyone to be included in the digital economy,” the Minister insisted. Disclosing that Cameroon now has a 46 per cent Internet penetration rate.   

Everyone On Board!
According to Gilbert Ewehmeh, the Chief Executive Officer of Yes Cameroon - the conveners of the conference – financial inclusion is like an elephant – very big. Reason why everyone must be brought on board. “Financial inclusion is not only about making payments or banking, but we need to bring on board rural people, young people, women, banks, Fintech associations, telephone and telecommunication companies, businesses... They are the key to the success of financial inclusion in Cameroon,” Ewehmeh pointed out. 

First Of Its Kind
“The financial inclusion conference is the first of its kind to be organized in Cameroon. Our key objective is to come up with a policy document to be submitted to government through the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Post and Telecommunication. This is to enable Cameroon have practical mechanisms and measures to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Goal on financial inclusion,” Ewehmeh stressed. 

From Wherever You Are
“Financial inclusion ensures users do not have to go the bank to collect money. Instead, they use their digital wallets from wherever they are. With Fintech, you do not need to own a bank account. A trader in the market does not need to leave their business to go to the bank to collect money. They save time by carrying out the transaction on their phone,” Gilbert Ewehmeh continued. 

Regulatory Framework
“For this to be possible, we need a regulatory framework. There is need to restructure the sector like it is already happening with mobile money payments. But this is not enough because an aspect like cyber crime must also be taken into consideration. In fact, we cannot talk about financial inclusion when the common man is unable to get themselves treated when they fall sick, send their children to school, meet their basic needs….” Gilbert underscored.

Affordable, Sustainable Services 
“Financial inclusion refers to efforts to provide affordable, sustainable services to the underprivileged. Though 80 per cent of the Cameroonian population has mobile phones, we still have less than 30 per cent of them with bank accounts. Banks have to create an ecosystem that brings all stakeholders together to deliver these services at very low cost. This is the essence of financial inclusion,” Clement Yuyun, Assistant General Manager, Union Bank of Cameroon explained. “Including everybody means you have to bring down the cost and make the services easy to use. This, in turn, enhances the speed of services and enables fiscal governance authorities (tax, customs…) to track all transactions and reduce the risks of cyber-crime,” Yuyun said. 

Internet Penetration 
“Africa is impacted today by 4 billion US dollars in financial inclusion transactions. We must leverage on internet penetration in Cameroon which in 2013 was at 16 per cent, but now stands at 46 per cent. The next important aspect is renewable energy without which digital devices will not function. Banks are making efforts to bring on board various stakeholders in to serve the underprivileged and ultimately achieve shared prosperity by tackling poverty. Through financial inclusion, we can eliminate poverty,” Clement Yuyun predicted.  

Key Conference Objective 
The key objective of the Cameroon Financial Inclusion Conference is to present opportunities and challenges that exist in Cameroon and the sub-region. In order to seek new innovative, digital models and the use of financial technology to support financial inclusi...