The first meeting between the Secretariat of the WAMU Banking Commission and the Directors General of Large Decentralized Financial Systems (DFS) was held on Friday, May 21, 2021 by videoconference. Over the last ten years, the number of sfD clients has increased from 6.9 million in 2010 to 15.9 million in 2020.Under the chairmanship of Tiémoko Meyliet KONE, Governor of the BCEAO, President of the sub-regional banking supervisory body, the General Secretariat of the Banking Commission met with the Directors General. large DFSs established in WAMU. At the opening of the session, the Governor of the BCEAO stressed in his speech the importance he attached to the microfinance sector. He welcomed the significant contribution of DFS to the financial inclusion of WAMU populations, in particular, those most vulnerable and generally excluded from traditional financial circuits.

While the number of DFS clients increased from 6.9 million in 2010 to 15.9 million in 2020, the share of the workforce using microfinance services increased to 22% in 2020 from 15% in 2010. The Governor of the BCEAO therefore insisted on the urgency of cleaning up and strengthening the microfinance sector. This should make it possible to ensure the provision of financial services that are more adapted to the needs of the population.

The Secretary General of the Banking Commission, Antoine TRAORE, expressed the Central Bank's good disposition to support the sector, in order to enable it to contribute, under optimal conditions, to the financial inclusion of populations and to a sound financing of WAMU economies. To do this, the supervisor's actions will always be in the direction of protecting depositors and controlling the risks weighing on the sector.