BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

In Cameroon, mobile money was first introduced in 2011. The idea was developed and formally introduced in 2012 by the Cameroonian affiliates of telecom giants MTN and Orange [52]. The circumstances that led to its launch were typical of most developing nations, especially in light of the limited percentage of the population that had bank accounts [29]. Many homes and SMEs in Cameroon had been essentially shut out of the traditional banking system and without access to capital in the official sector, as had been the case in the other nations where the concept had been introduced [3,4,42]. Even though finance is not now included in the services that mobile money in Cameroon offers, its debut had greatly boosted the financial inclusion rate (29%) by 2017 [22], up from 9% Sustainability 2020, 12, 183 6 of 17 in 2012 [53]. As a direct result, many citizens have been able to practice their crafts and create new businesses, which has led to an indirect employment rate of almost 5000 people [54]. In 2017, the mobile money transactions that have been associated with this growth were almost FCFA 3500 billion, or around 17.5% of Cameroon’s GDP [53]. When compared to the FCFA 300 billion registered in 2016, this implies a growth of more than 1000% [53]. With the advent of mobile money, households in Cameroon can now save for less money outlay and with less danger of loss and theft than in the past [21,22,24,48]. Given that only 12% of people in Cameroon had bank accounts in 2014 [29] and that the country had a 71% penetration rate of mobile phones in 2014 [52], it is clear that mobile money could not have come to the country at a more promising time. Because only commercial banks are permitted to issue electronic money [30] and the mobile network operators own the telecommunications infrastructures and technologies to deploy the platform, the mobile money service in Cameroon is offered through a partnership between commercial banks and mobile network operators (MTN Cameroon, Orange Cameroon, CAMTEL, and Nexttel). This convenient regulatory system, which currently governs Cameroon, will undoubtedly lessen the importance of the MM over time. Mobile Money looks to be the answer to the many issues, including liquidity, payment methods, debt collection, working capital, and financing encountered by SMEs, despite the fact that its importance is influenced by elements connected to regulations, infrastructures, and customs. According to several academics, their performance has improved as a result of its adoption and use in daily tasks.

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