Landscape of Microfinance Institutions

Microfinance activities are governed by the Uniform Law regulating Decentralized Financial Systems (DFSs) and its implementing regulations. Pursuant to the provisions of Article 44 of this law and Instruction No. 007-06-2010 of June 4, 2010, issued by the BCEAO concerning the procedures for supervision and sanctions by the Central Bank and the Banking Commission, the issuing institution and the regional banking supervisory authority conduct, after informing the Minister, the supervision of any decentralized financial system whose level of activity reaches a threshold of two (2) billion in outstanding deposits or loans over two (2) consecutive financial years. Other DFSs that have not reached this activity threshold are supervised by the Ministries of Finance of each State.

As of December 31, 2025, the landscape of large DFSs comprised 293 entities, including 131 networks and standalone institutions, and 162 primary-level institutions affiliated with a network. Networks and standalone institutions include companies, associations, networks, and unaffiliated Mutual or Cooperative Savings and Credit Institutions (MCSCIs).

Table No. 3: Number of DFSs Covered by Article 44 as of December 31, 2025

Source : BCEAO

As of December 31, 2025, 70 deployments of financial services via mobile telephony were recorded within the Union. These services are provided by:

• 49 banks, in partnership with telecommunications operators;
• 18 electronic money institutions (EMIs);
• 1 decentralized financial system (DFS);
• 2 national public treasuries.

Under its mandate, the Banking Commission supervises EMIs as part of protecting customer funds and promoting financial inclusion. The number of these supervised entities stood at 18 at the end of December 2025, compared with 14 one year earlier.

Table No. 4: Number of EMIs as of December 31, 2025

Source : General Secretariat of the WAMU Banking Commission