Islamic Finance: Dongou’s Case for CEMAC and WAMU

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Thursday, October 29, 2026

Home（https://financialcongo.com/） Finance（https://financialcongo.com/category/finance/） Islamic Finance: Dongou’s Case for CEMAC and WAMU

Finance（https://financialcongo.com/category/finance/）

Islamic Finance: Dongou’s Case for CEMAC and WAMU

by Emmanuel Mbuyi（https://financialcongo.com/writer/emmanuel-mbuyi/） October 28, 2026

Congolese financial engineer Dr Armel Saint Silvère Dongou, an expert in public finance and financial markets, is making the case for Islamic finance as a complementary source of funding for the economies of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) and the West African Monetary Union (WAMU). In his view, such an approach could help sustain investment, deepen financial inclusion and shore up the financial sovereignty of member states.

A shared funding gap across the CFA franc zone

Given the sheer scale of the financing needs facing African economies, diversifying resources has become a central concern for the two monetary unions of the CFA franc zone. In an analysis devoted to these two economic areas, Dongou highlights what Islamic finance could offer in supporting infrastructure financing and private-sector development.

His analysis identifies a set of challenges common to both regions: a shortage of long-term savings, substantial infrastructure needs, persistent difficulties for small and medium-sized enterprises in obtaining credit, and the strains weighing on public finances. Against that backdrop, he argues, recourse to Islamic financial instruments could broaden the pool of available capital and add variety to existing funding mechanisms.

Murabaha, ijara and sukuk: the instruments at stake

Islamic finance rests in particular on the prohibition of interest and on the principle that financial transactions must remain tied to the real economy. From these foundations it derives several instruments. Murabaha is a sale contract carrying a profit margin agreed between the parties. Ijara operates as a leasing arrangement broadly comparable to conventional lease financing. Sukuk, for their part, are financial certificates backed by assets, projects or economic activities, allowing issuers to raise funds from investors.

Two regions, two trajectories

The analysis draws a clear distinction between the paths Islamic finance has taken in Central and West Africa. Within WAMU, Dongou regards the regulatory progress already achieved and the experience gained from sovereign sukuk issuances as assets that could help deepen financial markets and widen the investor base.

In Central Africa, the adoption in October 2022 of the community regulation governing the conditions for conducting and supervising Islamic finance activity is presented as a significant milestone in structuring the sector. Consolidating that momentum, however, will depend, according to the analysis, on the effective implementation of the regulatory framework, on stronger professional skills, and on the design of products suited to the economic realities of the sub-region.

Sovereign sukuk as a lever for infrastructure

For public authorities, Dongou sees sovereign sukuk as one avenue for diversifying the resources earmarked for road, energy, health and port infrastructure. Their development could also attract new investors, he suggests, provided that transactions are transparent, projects are economically viable and risks are rigorously managed.

The analysis is nonetheless careful not to oversell the tool. Islamic finance, it stresses, should be regarded neither as cost-free funding nor as a way of sidestepping the constraints attached to public borrowing. Its effectiveness remains contingent on the quality of governance, on fiscal discipline and on the sustainability of the financial commitments made by states.

Private enterprise and financial inclusion

The private sector represents another significant field of application. According to Dongou, asset-financing and partnership mechanisms could ease the purchase of equipment, support agricultural activity and improve small businesses’ access to financial resources. He also points to the potential of combining Islamic microfinance with digital financial services, a pairing that could extend financial inclusion and mobilise savings that still sit largely outside formal channels.

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