GeCAM moves to boost financing solutions for SMEs.

A meeting between SMEs who are members of GeCAM and Société Générale Camerounaise, SCG bank, held at the GeCAM headquarters in Bonanjo, Douala. 

It had as objective to support and facilitate SMEs’ access to financing. Discussions were centered around the problems of high level of equity required to obtain loans and the high cost of studying credit applications.

In addition, alternative financing solutions such as leasing, factoring and international trade, as well as information on non-financial support and financing lines available SGC bank, were presented.

Officials of the SMEs development centre at GeCAM, during the meeting, reiterated the institution’s zeal to be seen as spokesperson for the private sector. 

Mindful of the fact that majority of its members deal with a plethora of issues of which access to loans from banks remains dominant, the GeCAM launched in November 2022, launched a platform dubbed “I talk to my banker", for exchanges between its members and Cameroonian institutions that finance and support SMEs. 

Through the platform, project leaders, startups, micro-enterprises, SMEs, amongst others, could present their projects, share difficulties faced and be granted financial opportunities/products made available to them by SCG bank. 

By making possible reflection between financial institutions and fund searching SMEs, GeCam maintained its stance to facilitate access to finances to SMEs.

For this to be made possible, institutions like SGC Bank which has always been there to accompany the private sector in developing the private sector cannot be overlooked 

The Corporate Affairs Director of SGC Bank Cameroon, Amara Diané, speaking to reporters, noted that the meeting was a voluntary move of SGC to be closer to its customers, provide tailored solutions to the quest for finances 

Having been present in Cameroon for about 60 years now, SGC Bank, it was said, has been consistently helping Cameroonian SMEs grow. This has been made possible thanks their partnership with GeCam 

SMEs play a great role in the growth of Cameroonian economy. They are more than 90 per cent of the whole economic ecosystem. As such, guaranteeing access to financial institution such SGC Bank is the major support they need to expand. 

This, it was disclosed, is why SCG Bank created the house of SMEs - a place which serves as a one stop shop for SMEs development, project fine-tuning and more. The bank, had through this platform put at the disposal of project bearers the internationally recognised expertise. 

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No:3169 of Monday July 15, 2024