(Business in Cameroon) – Internal controls are more than just a regulatory requirement for microfinance institutions (MFIs); they are also a tool for transparency and a lever to ensure client confidence and reassure shareholders about a company’s management. This was the core message delivered by the Central African Banking Commission (Cobac) on Monday, September 15, 2025, during its annual meeting with MFIs in Douala.
Cobac, the banking sector regulator for the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), which includes Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, and the Central African Republic, had “realized there were a number of dysfunctions impacting the solidity of microfinance institutions,” according to David Kengne, managing director of Microfinance Academy. Kengne’s organization provides technical assistance to more than 200 MFIs across Central and West Africa.
“Cobac believed these dysfunctions could be due to either misinterpretation or poor implementation of the regulation,” Kengne explained. “That’s why they gathered all the key personnel from CEMAC’s MFI internal control departments in Cameroon, to educate them on the spirit and the letter of the regulation.”
The meeting focused on regulations adopted in 2017 to replace a previous set from 2002. These new rules, which largely came into effect in 2018, introduced two key provisions: one on corporate governance and another on internal controls. The Douala meeting allowed Cobac and MFI leaders to discuss the second provision, aiming for more effective implementation.
“Internal controls help to prevent, detect, and correct risks,” Kengne said. “When a financial institution that collects client deposits has a good internal control system, it is confident in its solvency and has the full trust of its clients.”
BRM
