Cameroon, Gabon: Bama Etienne takes command as head of Commonwealth Enterprise & Investment Council.

The young trade policy expert was installed recently following the official inauguration of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council hub in Douala.

Headed by Cham Etienne Bama, the said platform was inaugurated on April 12, 2023.

It was commissioned by Lord Jonhatan Peter Marland, Chairman of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council.

The inauguration took place during a working visit to Douala.

The Commonwealth Enterprise Investment Council's hub for Central Africa in Douala covers Cameroon and Gabon.

The new institution will be headed by Cham Etienne Bama who is expected to serve as Country Director.

The Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council hub in Douala is the 4th in Africa, after those opened in Ghana, Nigeria and most recently in Kenya. 

Its main missions include coordinating the activities of the hub's strategic partners in the two countries of Cameroon and Gabon as well as the collection of expressions of interest from strategic partners in the other 54 Commonwealth member countries.

"… the Cameroon-Gabon CWEIC hub will play a key role in facilitating trade and facilitating trade and investment in the Central African sub-region," said Lord Jonhatan Peter Marland.

Formerly known as the Commonwealth Forum Council, CFC, the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council is a non-profit organisation with an official mandate from the Commonwealth Heads of State and Government. 

It is an accredited business network based in London, which organises business forums, networking events and tailored investment programmes. 

The CWEIC thus proposes to accompany its members in their march towards emergence, by raising their level of investment. 

The organisation is present in 30 countries and has about 100 strategic partners.

The task of seeing the outlined missions of the body come to fruition in the Central African sub-region lies in the hands of Cham Etienne Bama. 

He is no greenhorn to trade related issues in Africa and beyond.

But who really Etienne Bama?

Cham Etienne Bama holds a PGDip in Law from the University of Yaoundé II, Soa where he graduated in 2011. 

Since then, Cham has been working on both formal and informal cross border trade with a focus on export promotion, data collection, trade and gender, trade infrastructure development and policy formulation at the Cameroon National Shippers Council, a Government Agency where currently serves as Deputy Director for International Trade Promotion. 

Over the years, Cham has taken  short courses on International Trade Law and Policy for Africa’s Development at Trade Law Centre, TRALAC, Stellenbosch, Cape Town-South Africa, a course on Interpreting International Trade Agreements at TRALAC, a course on Gender, Trade and Development at the United Nations Institute for Economic Development Planning, IDEP, Dakar-Senegal, A guide to Gender mainstreaming in the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA national implementation strategies at IDEP.

Cham has served as expert on continental experts meetings such as the “Expert Group meeting on negotiating institutions : putting the right foundation” organised by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the Regional Trade Forum for West and Central Africa in Dakar, the capacity building workshop on stakeholders engagement on African Trade Policies and Economic Community Of West African States Regional Trade Policy Dialogue Forum in Abuja-Nigeria. 

Cham has actively participated at major AfCFTA events on the Continent and was resource person during national consultation process for the setting up of a national AfCFTA implemation Strategy for Cameroon.

He is the currently the National Consultant for SheTrades Outllok Project Cameroon with the International Trade Centre, ITC.