Islamic finance in Cameroon and the COBAC rules cover the windows and branches of banks and microfinance institutions authorised by COBAC to offer interest-free contracts, governed since 1 January 2023 by a regulation shared by the six CEMAC member states. They serve individuals, traders, farmers and small firms looking for financing that avoids interest and is validated by a Sharia compliance committee.
Islamic finance in Cameroon for individuals: accounts and savings
An individual opening an account will find that Islamic finance in Cameroon separates two kinds of money. Current-account balances are held on demand and earn nothing. Funds meant to grow go into an investment account of the mudaraba type, in which the customer and the institution share results according to a ratio set in the contract.
The return on Sharia-compliant finance in Cameroon is therefore variable. Before depositing, ask how profit is calculated, when it is credited, whether the money is locked in for a term and what part of the capital is covered by the regional deposit guarantee fund. Investment accounts and ordinary deposits are not necessarily protected in the same way, and the contract should say so.
Many households also take part in rotating savings groups, a familiar practice across the country. When run honestly they involve no interest, yet they carry no supervisor and no guarantee. A regulated account offers a written contract and a compliance committee, which is why some savers look at Islamic finance in Cameroon as a complement.
Islamic banking in Cameroon: February 2015, the first Islamic window
Afriland First Bank launched an Islamic window on 25 February 2015 in partnership with the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, part of the Islamic Development Bank group. The offer included murabaha, musharaka, mudaraba and ijara.
A large potential customer base with little access to banks
At the time of that launch, Muslims were estimated at more than 20% of Cameroonians, while the share of adults holding an account remained low. The compliant offer therefore aimed at financial inclusion as much as at religious demand.
Why a regional regulation rather than a national law?
Cameroon belongs to CEMAC, where bank licensing and supervision fall to the Central African Banking Commission. Islamic finance rules are therefore set for the whole zone, not by the Cameroonian legislature alone.
Regulation No. 04/22/CEMAC/UMAC/COBAC
Adopted on 9 November 2022 and in force since 1 January 2023, this text sets the conditions for carrying out and supervising Islamic finance activity. It applies to credit institutions and microfinance institutions alike.
Cars, equipment and housing: contracts used in Cameroon
Interest-free finance in Cameroon is built on sales and leases. In a murabaha, the institution buys the vehicle or goods and resells them to the client at a cost plus a disclosed margin, paid in instalments. Since the total is fixed on signature, it does not grow when a payment is late, which is the key difference from an interest-bearing loan.
In an ijara the institution keeps ownership and leases the asset to the customer, with a later option to acquire it. This suits a pick-up truck, a workshop machine or a generator. The agreement should set out who insures the asset, who pays for major repairs and how ownership is transferred at the end.
As an illustration, take equipment priced at 10,000,000 CFA francs and sold on a three-year plan. The customer should receive a schedule listing each monthly payment and the total, and that total should not move afterwards. If it does, or if the schedule is missing, the arrangement no longer resembles a genuine murabaha as Sharia-compliant finance in Cameroon is meant to apply it.
Five principles laid down in article 3
The regulation retains the ban on charging or paying interest, the rejection of uncertainty and speculation, the exclusion of unlawful activities, backing by tangible assets, and the sharing of profits and losses between the parties.
Compliance committee and deposit guarantee
Each institution must have a committee responsible for validating the Sharia compliance of its products. The text also deals with deposit protection through FOGADAC and with governance, on top of the banking and microfinance rules already in force.
A compliance timetable for the pioneers
Institutions that already offered Islamic products before the regulation had to file their authorisation request by 1 June 2023 and had two years, until 1 January 2025, to bring themselves fully into line with the new framework.
CBC and its Amana window in Douala
In July 2024 Commercial Bank of Cameroon announced an Islamic finance offer branded CBC Amana, with a dedicated branch in Douala, and claimed the first prior authorisation issued by COBAC under the 2022 regulations.
Salam and Mudaraba for farmers and traders in Islamic finance in the CEMAC zone
Salam is the contract most closely tied to agriculture in Islamic banking in Cameroon. The financier pays the price upfront for a precisely described product, such as cocoa or maize, to be delivered at a set date. The producer receives working capital before the harvest without borrowing, and in return commits to the stated quality, quantity and place of delivery.
A poor harvest is the main risk. A well-drafted contract anticipates it by allowing delivery of equivalent goods, an extension agreed by both sides or a refund of the price received. Producers should raise this point with the institution before signing, because the outcome affects their income in the worst season.
Traders in Islamic finance in the CEMAC zone, by contrast, often use mudaraba or murabaha to stock their stalls. In a mudaraba the institution provides the capital and the trader provides the work, so profit is shared as agreed and a loss caused by the market falls on the capital provider. Risk sharing of this kind is what separates Islamic finance in Cameroon from a loan with a fixed interest rate.
CCA-Bank opens two Islamic branches: Sharia-compliant finance in Cameroon in 2025
Authorised by COBAC in March 2025, CCA-Bank opened two dedicated branches in July, at New Bell in Douala and Tsinga in Yaoundé. It highlights Salam, Ijara and Mudaraba to finance traders, equipment and projects.
Microfinance joins in as well
The regulation covers microfinance, and a second-category institution has obtained COBAC authorisation to open an Islamic window. For small traders and farmers, murabaha and Salam can take the place of interest-bearing credit.
What a customer in Cameroon should check
Ask whether the branch belongs to a COBAC-authorised window, which contract is used, how the margin or profit share is calculated, and which compliance committee approved the product. Conformity remains a matter for that committee to judge.
Room for growth already identified
The market is still young: training lawyers and bankers in Islamic contracts, the tax treatment of successive sales and instruments for placing liquidity are all workstreams on which wider take-up beyond a handful of branches depends.
Comparing the real cost of Islamic banking in Cameroon
Because an Islamic purchase involves two sales, Islamic finance in Cameroon can multiply costs: file charges, insurance, registration and transfer costs. Request a full list from your Islamic bank and work out the total amount to be repaid. A low monthly figure can hide a long term, and only the overall cost lets a customer compare with a conventional offer.
With interest-free finance in Cameroon, ask also whether the institution offers rebates for early repayment, since the profit built into a sale is not removed automatically. Some providers return part of it, others do not. This clause is easy to overlook, and it can make a real difference to someone who expects to settle ahead of schedule.
Penalties for late payment follow specific rules in Islamic finance in the CEMAC zone: any sum collected is in principle sent to charitable causes and not booked as income. If a dispute arises, keep the contract, the schedule, the committee approval and every receipt, and send a written complaint to the institution first.
Checking an institution before using Islamic finance in Cameroon
The first check is the institution's status. Is it running a window or branch authorised by the regulator, or is it merely using Islamic vocabulary for an ordinary product? It should be able to show its authorisation and name the members of its compliance committee, and such evidence matters more than the brochure.
Next, for any Islamic finance in Cameroon, look at separation of funds. A window belonging to a conventional bank must keep the money invested in Islamic products apart from other resources, and its committee must approve each product before it is sold. Ask how the institution manages income that the committee judges non-compliant.
Last, consider the practical side: where the dedicated branches are, which services work online, and what documents are required to open an account. Because the market is still young, the number of branches remains limited, so travelling to Douala or Yaoundé may be necessary at the outset.