In Cameroon, Islamic finance covers 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.
February 2015: the country's 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.
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.
CCA-Bank opens two Islamic branches 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.
Specialist external source
The COBAC website provides the CEMAC regulations on Islamic finance, the licensing and prior authorisation procedures, and decisions concerning institutions operating in Cameroon.