IslamicFinance.de

In Cameroon, only one bank (Afriland First Bank) and three microfinance institutions practice Islamic financing. Yet, the appropriation of this type of financing can considerably contribute to the development of financial inclusion in Cameroon. To raise awareness about the topic, the Ministry of Finance and the UNDP organized a forum on the theme "Islamic financing: contribution to Cameroon's economic growth and to the achievement of sustainable development goals". According to Finance Minister Louis Paul Motazé, Islamic financing promotes financial inclusion and it can also constitute a complementary lever for economic growth by attracting foreign investment from Middle Eastern countries.

Afriland First Bank, the Cameroonian banking institution, has set high fundraising and loan approval targets for its Islamic finance clientele. Indeed, according to Youssoufa Bouba, the bank’s Director of Specialised Finance, Afriland First Bank is aiming to achieve 3 billion FCFA in Islamic checking accounts. Bouba goes on to state that the bank intends to grant 2 billion FCFA in loans at the same branch. These goals depend not only on the size of the Muslim population in Cameroon (the institution’s target market), which represents 20% of the population there, but also on the products the bank implements with private sector support provided by the Society for International Development (SID).