Financial policymakers have major role to play in job creation, says BCEAO Governor

Central bank mandates increasingly allow them to influence job creation, says Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, Governor of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO).

Speaking at AFI’s 13th African Financial Inclusion Policy Initiative (AfPI) Leaders’ Roundtable in Abidjan, Governor Brou highlighted that with many more people entering the job market than jobs being created, there was an urgent need for a framework to reduce unemployment. 

Governor Brou mentioned BCEAO’s various levers to promote job creation, including monetary policy efficiency, financial education programs, and enabling electronic money issuers and instant payment regulations. He also cited BCEAO’s work around entrepreneurship policies and infrastructure investment, notably in digital connectivity, and emphasized that coordinated effort between the private and public sectors was vital to achieving productive financing. 

Governor Brou’s views were echoed by Aida Mbodji, Minister of Senegal’s General Delegation for Rapid Entrepreneurship of Women and Youth, who highlighted education, food security and internet connectivity as essential preconditions to access decent jobs.

The conversation took place during a panel chaired by AFI Executive Director, Dr Alfred Hannig, which also featured Brian Commettant, First Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Seychelles, Felicia Dlamini-Kunene, Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Eswatini, and Kee Beom Kim of the International Labour Organization.

“Debates around the role of central banks in employment creation, and potential trade-offs with their mandates of price and economic stability, are not new, but with 375 million young people entering the African job market between now and 2030, circumstances compel policymakers to act to support job creation,” said Dr Hannig.

“By aligning financial inclusion within their mandates of monetary and financial stability, policymakers will be able to remove bottlenecks, and achieve real impact on employment numbers and ultimately on economic growth.”