COFEB organized the second edition of the joint COFEB/House of Training-ATTF program from September 17, 2024, to May 16, 2025, with a view to boosting the digital finance capabilities of financial sector stakeholders in the WAEMU region. The program, aimed at improving digital financial services development strategies, was part of Luxembourg’s support for activities under implementation by the BCEAO, including the creation of the FinTech Knowledge and Monitoring Office, the Interoperability Project, the Financial Innovation Lab and the Task Force on Artificial Intelligence.

The training included online courses taught by ATTF and BCEAO experts, covering key topics such as digital transformation, cybersecurity, the FinTech ecosystem, and regulation. The final phase took place from May 14 to 16, 2025, at BCEAO headquarters, when eight dissertations were presented to a high-level jury.

It opened with an inaugural conference on “The finance of the future in an increasingly digitalized world,” led by Professor Issouf Soumaré of Laval University, in Canada, the program’s academic director. This conference provided an opportunity to discuss the challenges and opportunities of digitalization, including tokenization, artificial intelligence, and risk management.

On completing the program, twenty-three executives from banking institutions, microfinance organizations, and BCEAO bodies obtained their certification, reflecting their commitment to the digital transformation of financial services. The closing ceremony, chaired by the General Manager of COFEB, provided an opportunity to acknowledge the cooperation between COFEB and ATTF Luxembourg, as well as the efforts of the participants.

The participants described the certification program as an innovative project with considerable added value for the development of digital finance skills in the WAEMU region.