(Business in Cameroon) - On this eve of school resumption (planned for October 5, 2020, after six months of break imposed by the coronavirus pandemic), banks and microfinance institutions are competing to get parents’ attention for loans to allow them to serenely prepare their children’s schooling. Indeed, there are numerous offers posted on banks’ notice boards and signboards around Cameroon.

All of these posters claim to offer loans at preferential rates and some even boast of loan procedures that can be completed within 24 and 48 hours.

According to bankers, these offers are numerous because the school resumption period is usually a good time to offer loans to individuals (even though the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic are gradually being felt now). The reason, they explain, is that credit activities are usually boosted during these periods.

This explanation is corroborated by the report published by CEMAC’s central bank BEAC describing the evolution of lending rates in H2-2019. The report explained that the volume of credit granted to individuals in the country rose significantly at around school resumption (because of school loans) time and the nearing new year eve.

BRM