Promote 2024: MINEPAT’s to finance SMEs, boost made in Cameroon

By Eratus Ndueh

The Ministry of Economy, Planning and Regional Development (Minepat) is devoted to sponsoring the participation of Small and Medium-sized Entreprises (SMEs) in the 9th edition of the Yaounde international business and partnership fair dubbed Promote.

In a press release made public last December 22, Minister Alamine Ousmane Mey invited local SMEs wishing to benefit from the support of his Ministry for this major business meeting to fill out the relevant application form. This form, he said, is available on his ministry’s website.

But taking part in Prmote and receiving grants is one thing, overcoming the challenges is another, experts have said.

Challenges faced by entrepreneurs in Cameroon

More than 100 SME owner-managers in Cameroon responded to a survey concerning their ability to compete in a global business environment. Their responses appear to show that SMEs face some significant challenges if they wish to grow or simply survive.

An environment that offers plenty of resources but is deficient in terms of organization, resource access, and stakeholder behaviour constitutes an additional challenge for these owner-managers – one that they cannot address without help.

There are also concerns about the lack of financial support from the government and the heavy taxes that at times discourage some potential investors from investing. The fact that the prices of imported products are lower than locally made ones scares clients.

Indeed, the country’s massive imports include consumer goods. According to the latest foreign trade report, plant products and cereals accounted for 9% and 10.5% respectively. For a country with thousands of hectares of arable land, these statistics are somewhat surprising. Also, the agro-pastoral sector is gradually becoming a niche of business opportunities for entrepreneurs despite the difficulties encountered.

There are numerous tax incentives available for those who want to get started. What’s more, consuming locally or drastically reducing imports would ensure product traceability and ensure upstream that their manufacture meets local standards. The quality of certain imported products like foodstuffs, and cosmetics just to name a few is all too often suspected, rightly or wrongly, and consumer associations sometimes deem them harmful to health.

Today, going to a party dressed in a “toghu” made of ndop fabric, a majestic boubou or a sandja, rather than a three-piece suit or a made-abroad evening gown, is not just a matter of fashion or anti-conformism. It’s also about self-affirmation and positive exposure that benefits the local economy. 

The Russo-Ukrainian conflict and persistent inflationary tensions, led to the shortage of wheat, the main ingredient used for a mass-market product like bread. Yet local alternatives do exist like sweet potato, and cassava that could be transformed into flour.

In this respect, the concept of import-substitution, which consists of abandoning the importation of goods that can be produced locally, has come to be grafted onto the Made in Cameroon trend; thus strengthening the opportunities for ingenious local entrepreneurs.

This among many others proves that the government has dompted, which is to improve the competitive capacity of the country’s SMEs by upgrading the current business ecosystem and infrastructures and bringing them into line with global standards.

The event which will be organized at the Yaoundé conference center in Cameroon from the 17 to 25 February 2024 is believed to be the perfect platform for the Made in Cameroon products to shine forth in visibility, positioning, promotion, exchanges, and reflection.

PROMOTE has proven itself over the years as the ideal platform in Central Africa for the promotion of business and business partnerships and the event won’t be an exception for SMEs in Cameroon hopefully.