Volume 16, Number 1, June 2026
| Financial Institution Development and the Resilience of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in CEMAC Zone: Is ICTs Matter?
|
Pierre Ghislain TCHOFFO TIOYEM 1, Yves Vincent MBALLA ATANGANA 2*, Pisso EKWA NSEKE 3,and HAMID FAYOU 4
Abstract
This study analyses the impact of financial development on firm resilience in CEMAC countries, integrating the moderating role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) within a context marked by structural financing constraints, gradual digital transformation, and vulnerability to macroeconomic shocks. Using robust dynamic panel econometric techniques, the results show that financial development significantly improves firms' adaptive capacity, notably through better access to credit, optimized liquidity management, and increased support for productive investment. ICTs reinforce this effect by facilitating the spread of digital financial services, reducing transaction costs, and improving access to economic information. These results suggest the need for integrated public policies that simultaneously promote financial inclusion, SME digitalization, and infrastructure development to support sustainable and inclusive growth in the sub-region.
Keywords:Financial development; Firm resilience; ICT; CEMAC
JEL Classification: G20, M41, M42, Z23
1 Chargé de Cours en Finance - Comptabilité, Laboratoire de Recherche en Management, Institut Universitaire du Golfe de Guinée, Douala Cameroun
2 Maître Assistant en Sciences de Gestion, Membre de l’Association Francophone de Comptabilité (AFC) – France, Membre du Laboratoire de Développement des Organisations et de la Prospective (LADOP), Enseignant-Chercheur Université de Yaoundé II / Cameroun (* E-mail: yvesmballa9917@yahoo.fr)
3 Chargé de Cours en Sciences de Gestion, Centre de Recherche en Economie et Gestion (CEREG), Enseignant-Chercheur Université de Yaoundé II / Cameroun
4 IBN Tofail University, Kenitra, Morocco