Improving Access to Financial Services for All

On February 25, a workshop held at Le Retaj Hotel marked the official launch of work to develop the national strategy for financial inclusion in the Comoros.

The event brought together key stakeholders from the financial sector, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Finance, Mohamed Affane, and the Governor of the Central Bank of the Comoros (BCC), Younoussa Imani, accompanied by international experts.

Younoussa Imani stressed that the low level of banking, which only concerns 29% of the population, remains a concern. The Governor emphasized the need to provide financial services that are accessible to all, and not to a minority. « We must ensure that these services become a tool that promotes savings, investment and entrepreneurship », he said.

The objective of this strategy is to improve the population’s access to secure, adapted and low-cost financial services. According to the head of the BCC, financial inclusion should not be seen only as a social policy, but as a key factor for the economic development and macroeconomic stability of the country.

Mohamed Affane, for his part, recalled that financial inclusion is one of the pillars of the Plan Comoros Émergent 2030 (PCE 2030). This plan aims for a structural transformation of the economy to accelerate growth, boost the private sector and reduce poverty.

The Governor also called on banks, microfinance institutions and other operators in the financial sector to adapt their products and services to the economic realities of the country. Thus, he insisted on the need to develop offers adapted to SMEs, young entrepreneurs and workers in the informal sector, who represent the heart of the economy.