Chapter 6: Savings Groups in Cameroon

Finance in Cameroon comprises formal and informal institutions. This sector recently went through major changes and restructuring. More comprehensive regulation aims to prevent crises and limit risks. Microfinance Institutions (MFI) were welcomed with euphoria in its genesis and has become more professionalised and modernised. Crisis and bankruptcies in MFIs are less common. Savings groups like the ROSCA (Rotating Savings and Credit Association) and village or community banks which were expected to lose appeal due to the development of microfinance and banking (Kemayou, Guebou, & Madiba, 2011) remain a significant player in the social and entrepreneurial dynamics of economic actors on the perimeters of traditional systems.