• COBAC orders CEMAC banks & MFIs to comply with Islamic-finance rules by 31 Dec 2025, using only approved Islamic windows.
• Regulation 04/22/22 defines instruments, mandates Sharia boards, enables Islamic windows or standalone banks in CEMAC.
• By July 25 Islamic finance runs via windows: no standalone bank yet, BDEAC’s window active, SME usage & events rising.

Banking and microfinance institutions across the Central Africa Economic and Monetary Union (CEMAC) have less than 150 days remaining to align their Islamic-finance activities with regional regulations. The deadline is set by the Central African Banking Commission (COBAC), which reaffirmed in an 18 July 2025 circular that full compliance must be achieved by 31 December 2025.

The circular, first reported by droitsmediasfinance.com, notes that “at the end of this period, certain credit and microfinance institutions continue to offer Islamic-finance services outside the applicable regulations, without having regularised their situation or obtained prior authorisation from COBAC.” It emphasises that supervised institutions engaged in Islamic finance on a partial basis are authorised to do so only through an Islamic window.

Islamic finance in CEMAC developed gradually. Early interest appeared in the 2010s as economic challenges encouraged the search for alternative financing. In 2016, Ecobank Cameroon introduced Islamic-finance products, marking one of the zone’s first initiatives. By 2019, the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) began developing supervisory guidelines for Sharia-compliant activities, laying the groundwork for formal integration.

A decisive step was taken on 9 November 2022 with the adoption of Regulation No. 04/22/CEMAC/UMAC/COBAC, which sets the conditions for conducting and supervising Islamic-finance operations across CEMAC. The regulation defines key instruments such as Murabaha and Istisna, mandates the establishment of Sharia boards, and permits conventional banks to operate Islamic windows while opening the door for standalone Islamic banks.

As of 31 July 2025, Islamic finance in CEMAC remains in an early growth phase, characterised by regulatory progress and institutional initiatives but limited by low penetration and infrastructure gaps. No fully-fledged Islamic banks are yet operational; activities are conducted through Islamic windows within conventional banks or development banks.

Academic and industry discourse is expanding. A January 2025 study in the International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management found that Cameroonian SMEs using Islamic-finance modes experienced improved access to finance and increased innovation capacity. The second CEMAC Islamic Finance Community Days were held in Yaoundé in April 2024, and a COSUMAF webinar on Islamic finance in Chad took place in January 2025. Consultancies such as African Islamic Finance Consulting are actively promoting adoption.

Initially written in french by Chamberline Moko

Adapted and edited in English by Idriss Linge