At SME Forum 2024: Experts, entrepreneurs discuss ways of strengthening entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The forum which kicked off on Wednesday September 11, was organised by the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Center, SBEC, of the Denis and Lenora Foretia Foundation.

The 2024 SMEs Forum was placed on the theme: “Strengthening Cameroon's entrepreneurial ecosystem”.

According to the Director of SBEC, Sylvia Namondo, the main objective of the forum was to promote policies and discussions aimed at enhancing Cameroon’s entrepreneurial ecosystem for sustainable economic development.  

“It’s aims at bringing together SMEs from diverse sectors to connect, network and bring them closer to government stakeholders, parliamentarians and other decision makers because there are number of problems faced by SMEs in Cameroon,” the SBEC director began. 

She added that: “This is the kind of platform SMEs need for exposure, to discuss about the challenges they are facing and how we can put hands on desk to proffer solutions on how they can build a good ecosystem”. 

Namondo further stressed that the role of SMEs in the development of Cameroon cannot be ignored as they play a key part in growing the country’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP, thereby pushing the country towards its vision of emergence by 2035. 

Noting that the SMEs forum is in its fifth edition, the director pointed out that the novelty of this year’s edition is the recognition of some SMEs within their network for their outstanding contribution to the growth of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. 

Challenges 

From the different speeches delivered and panel discussions, several hurdles hampering the smooth progress of SMEs activities in Cameroon were highlighted. 

Some panelists were unanimous that SMEs represent more than 95% of Cameroon’s economic framework, yet they accounted 54% of job creation and contributed 34% to Cameroon’s GDP in 2020.

Going by the Head of Service for the Promotion of Business Culture at the Ministry of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicraft, MINPMEESA, Cyrille Schouame, the enormous challenges confront SMEs despite the sector’s significant potential.

He the acknowledged challenges hindering their growth such as inadequate management, limited access to credit and the informal nature. 

“There should be synergy between the trainings provided and the actual needs of entrepreneurs in order to build a solid entrepreneurial ecosystem,” Schouame suggested. 

Similarly, the Co-chair of the Denis & Lenora Foretia Foundation, Dr Denis Foretia asserted that: “SMEs face numerous challenges, but financial hurdles are easier managed outside the informal sector. We must prioritize accelerating the transition from the informal to the formal sector”. 

Going by Dr Foretia, this shift will open doors to better access to funding, support structures, and sustainable growth opportunities.

Strong proposals

The Continental Coordinator of Accelerate Africa, Gilbert Ewehmeh, the government has a key responsibility in making the entrepreneurial ecosystem stronger and better. 

“The Government needs to resolve the anarchy observed in the management of entrepreneurial initiatives and centralise all similar initiatives to support entrepreneurs at the Ministry of SMEs,” Ewehmeh stated. 

Meanwhile, the Chief Negotiator for the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA, Parfait Eppoh, cited the varied opportunities AfCFTA offers to entrepreneurs. 

“The AfCFTA offers SMEs the opportunity to sell their products abroad free of customs duties and thus to forge external commercial partnerships. But you have to be competitive and offer quality products,” he affirmed.

It is worth noting that the forum was attended representatives of government ministries, civil society actors, amongst others and was marked by panel discussions and breakout sessions.

Discussions at the forum centred on thematic areas like public-private partnerships enhancing the entrepreneurship ecosystem for sustainable development in Cameroon; strengthening the role of the press in promoting entrepreneurship development.

Exchanges during the sitting also focused on enhancing financial support for SMEs by leading financial institutions, impact of SME financial inclusion on fostering a business-friendly ecosystem, role of technological innovation in entrepreneurship development among others.

The role of startups in creating employment for women and youth in a council area, evaluating the effectiveness of government policies on SMEs in Cameroon, as well as developing and implementing a Start-Up Act for Cameroon equally came under scrutiny.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post issue N0:3228 of Friday September 13, 2024