“SMEs are the engine of growth in Cameroon”

Christophe Eken, President CCIMA.

Cameroonians prefer imported goods and home industries are facing unfair competition with imported goods. What is CCIMA doing to encourage home industriesto that effect?

We have more than 200,000 enterprises in the database of CCIMA and among the number, over 80 per cent are SMEs. The Small enterprises are those that contributes to theeconomic evolution of every country the world over. The maindifficulties of Cameroonian enterprises are those of financing and unfair competition. Part of the difficulties of these enterprises come from us Cameroonians because we don’t consume local products. When we talk of made in Cameroon products, the agency for standard and quality exist and I say this to small and medium size enterprises to leap from informal to formal sector. And they should embrace new technology and CCIMA can help them attain the norms for them to produce goods that will be consumed by Cameroonians. It is not normal to see more than 80 per cent of imported products in supermarkets while we have able men and women and even raw materials to produce whatever product. The President of the Republic always say Cameroonians should dare and Cameroon is always referred to as Africa in miniature which means we have everything. Let’s get to that and ensure that the SMEs are the engine of growth in Cameroon.

Since the going into effect of the Economic Partnership Agreement some 19 months back, has it been beneficial to Cameroonian enterprises?

Going by a research conducted last year by CCIMA, Heads of enterprises listed their difficulties starting with access to finance through high taxes to weak demand and unfair competition with imported products. Concerning the unfair competition I would say SMEs benefit very little from the opportunities that comes with the Economic Partnership Agreement. Many continue to pay full customs duties on products that they are not supposed to just because they are ignorant of administrative procedures. Thus the effect of the partnership has not yet been felt on prices. This is a point that calls for a synergy between the private sector and the government to brainstorm on an operational strategy where consumers will benefit from the drop in...