Cameroon Mobilizes Banks and Investors Ahead of East Region Forum

Cameroon is bringing together public agencies, banks and foreign investors for the inaugural Bagofit International Business Week and Bertoua Investors Forum, scheduled for August 5-8 in the East Region.

Held alongside the third Chantal Biya International Mountain Bike Race, the event is intended to connect local entrepreneurs and project developers with the institutions that can help them turn business ideas into viable enterprises. Its program will therefore combine entrepreneurship training, financial guidance, meetings with banks and presentations of investment opportunities in the region.

The initiative is being promoted by Public Service and Administrative Reform Minister Joseph LE. In preparation for the event, he has held a series of meetings in Yaounde with the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Promotion Agency, or APME, and private-sector representatives. He has also met separately with Bange Bank Cameroon and with a delegation of Indian businesspeople operating in the East Region.

These discussions have focused on one of the main obstacles facing aspiring entrepreneurs: access to support that goes beyond initial financing. According to LE, providing money or equipment is often insufficient when beneficiaries have not yet acquired the skills needed to manage and expand a business.

“We have observed that when financial or material support is provided to young people who want to start businesses, it does not always last because many do not yet have an entrepreneurial culture,” he said. “They do not always know how to make what they have received grow.”

From Business Training to Financing

To address that gap, APME will deploy its training bus and mobile technology and innovation support center to Bertoua. Young entrepreneurs and project holders attending the forum will receive practical training in business management, project development and financial education.

APME Director General Jean Marie Louis Badga said the agency would help participants refine their projects and build the skills required to operate sustainable enterprises.

“The APME will move the training bus to enable young people attending the fair to benefit from practical know-how,” Badga said. “We will also focus on project maturation and everything related to financial education.”

The deployment is expected to be the training bus’s first major national operation in the East Region.

That connection is particularly important in a country where SMEs account for 99.8% of the entrepreneurial landscape, according to APME. Organizers hope that strengthening the capabilities of young business owners will help expand the region’s SME base and increase its contribution to local economic activity.

Training, however, is only one component of the initiative. The forum will also seek to improve links between entrepreneurs and financial institutions. Bange Bank Cameroon has confirmed its participation following a meeting between its director general, Jose Miguel Obiang Nchama, and LE.

For the bank, the gathering will provide an opportunity to meet local economic operators and explore a regional market with significant development potential.

Using Existing Investments to Attract New Projects

Alongside support for local enterprises, organizers want the forum to showcase the East Region as an investment destination. In this context, LE also met a delegation of Indian businesspeople already operating in Lomié.

Their activities have generated about 200 jobs, according to information presented during the meeting, and they are considering additional development projects in the region. The delegation was invited to share its experience at the August forum.

Mercy Fosoh