The legal and regulatory framework applicable to Decentralized Financial Systems (SFD) consists of national and supranational texts, the main ones being:

At the national level

• Law No. 96-562 of July 22, 1996, regulating mutual or cooperative savings and credit institutions, amended by Ordinance No. 2011-367 of November 3, 2011, regulating decentralized financial systems;
• Decree No. 2014-20 of January 22, 2014, implementing Ordinance No. 2011-367 of November 3, 2011, regulating decentralized financial systems.

At the supranational level, there are instructions, circulars, and notices from the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) concerning microfinance activities.

 The institutional organization of the microfinance sector in Côte d'Ivoire mainly includes:

• The Directorate of Regulation and Supervision of Decentralized Financial Systems (DRSSFD);
• The National Commission for Microfinance.
• The Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO);
• The Professional Association of Decentralized Financial Systems of Côte d'Ivoire (APSFD-CI);
• Decentralized Financial Systems (SFD).

The SFD consists of mutual or cooperative savings and credit institutions (IMCEC) and public limited companies. They have several service points distributed throughout the territory.

• The SFD sector has forty-six (46) licensed institutions in 2023, down from 62 in 2015. This decrease results from the sector's cleanup.
• The number of service points, which has been steadily increasing, rose from 327 in 2015 to 461 in 2023, reflecting the expansion of the range of financial services and products.
• 2,309,469 members or clients were recorded at the end of 2023, compared to 1,009,440 at the end of 2015.

Evolution of the Number of Decentralized Financial Systems and Service Points

Source: MFB / DGTCP

*Provisional data

Evolution of the Number of Clients of SFD (in millions)

Source: MFB/DGTCP