Cameroon, EU Shape New SME Agenda Around Finance and Digitalization

Cameroon and the European Union plan to strengthen cooperation on financing, digitalization and value-chain development to improve the competitiveness and productive capacity of local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The priorities were discussed in Yaoundé on September 11, 2026, during a meeting between Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicrafts Minister Achille Bassilekin III and Veronika Bošković Pohar, the new Ambassador and Head of the European Union Delegation to Cameroon.

According to the ministry, discussions covered access to finance, productive transformation, digitalization, value-chain development and efforts to unlock the economic potential of the handicraft sector. The meeting also reviewed existing cooperation programs supporting Cameroonian businesses.

The talks came after Cameroon and the EU signed three financing agreements on June 16, 2026, during the Cameroon-European Union Business Week. The agreements, worth about CFAF 37.16 billion ($66 million), support Digital Business Boost for Africa, Digital Acceleration in Cameroon, and the Sustainable and Competitive Forests and Cocoa in Cameroon program.

Digital Business Boost for Africa received CFAF 9.83 billion. The regional initiative spans Cameroon, Gabon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo. Another CFAF 9.83 billion was allocated to Digital Acceleration in Cameroon, which is intended to help businesses improve their competitiveness through digital technologies.

The forests and cocoa program received CFAF 17.5 billion to support the competitiveness and sustainability of the two value chains.

Finance and Value Chains

The cooperation portfolio also includes the Economic Development Support Program through the Promotion of Value Chains and Private Initiative (PAD-CV). The four-year program is financed by the EU with €15 million ($17.6 million), equivalent to about CFAF 9.84 billion.

PAD-CV targets micro, small and medium-sized businesses, cooperatives and other operators in selected agricultural and digital value chains. Its operational phase was launched in July 2026, with priority given to businesses in the Far North, North, East, South and Southwest regions.

The program focuses on improving private-sector access to finance, developing priority value chains and strengthening public-private dialogue. According to the Ministry of Economy, it is expected to mobilize about €45 million for businesses through a financing mechanism involving national and international financial partners.

EU support has also extended to business formalization. The European Commission says the MyBusiness.cm initiative helped formalize more than 25,000 businesses in Cameroon’s Center, Littoral and North regions. The project also helped automate and standardize procedures at Business Creation Formality Centers, allowing registrations to be processed in less than 72 hours.

Other EU-backed initiatives cited by the SME Ministry include the Subcontracting and Partnership Exchange, Business Creation Formality Centers, e-Regulation, the Sustainable Development Support Program for Agricultural and Agrifood SMEs, the Cameroon Competitiveness Support Facility and the Economic Partnership Agreement Support Program.

Bassilekin said the objective was to turn these cooperation instruments into drivers of productive transformation and value creation for Cameroonian SMEs. Bošković Pohar reaffirmed the importance of the longstanding partnership and pledged to work with Cameroonian authorities to support the success of ongoing and future projects. She said Cameroon and the EU had both significant potential and a history of partnership.

Mercy Fosoh