CAVIE President trains DGRE senior officers, agents on competitive intelligence.

The intensive training was led by Dr Guy Gweth, the President of the African Centre for Competitive Intelligence, best known by its French acronym CAVIE. 

The training which ran from June 30 to July 4 was organized within the context of increasing geo-economic tensions.

To initiate and successful manage the strategic shift of the DGRE and its positioning in the in the field of competitive intelligence, the State of Cameroon resolved to not to take risks.

It is for this reason that the State called on Dr Gweth, a renowned African expert and author of the bestselling book, Power237, who was the instructor, to use his vast wealth of experience to school the officers during the training course.   

According to organizers, the training enabled participants to analyze contemporary economic offensives, understand the concrete impact on the African continent and Cameroon, and learn the tools to respond effectively.

The development of a national doctrine, we gathered, supported by a clear strategy, coherent public policy, and an operational action plan, was central to the programme.

It was also revealed that participants were trained in setting up multisectoral monitoring, structuring and organising a competitive intelligence system specific to Cameroon and producing analytical content usable by decision makers, all perfectly aligned with local realities and the requirement of the strategic State.

It is worth mentioning that Dr Gweth is one of the leading figures in African strategic thought. For over 15 years, the expert has advised government, institutions, and major companies on issues of geostrategy economic sovereignty, and due diligence.

His appointment as a strategic partner and instructor of the DGRE, specializing in competitive and strategic intelligence, reflects the clear intention of the Cameroonian State to strengthen its capacities for anticipation, influence and economic protection on a competitive world.

Gov’t determined to modernize intelligence apparatus

Speaking during the opening of the training, the Director General of DGRE, Jean Pierre Robins Ghoumo, underscored the importance of the programme.

Long focused on traditional political and security monitoring and recognised for its operational excellence, the DGRE, it was said, is now broadening its skills to new areas of economic conflict where disinformation, influence operations, unfair competitions over strategic assets, sensitive data capture, regulatory encirclement and more are intertwined.

“The Directorate General for External Research, as an intelligence service serving the State, must be at the forefront of this evolution,” the DGRE boss said.

According to the DGRE Director General: “Our traditional role of monitoring and anticipation must now fully incorporate a dimension of competitive intelligence, focused on protecting the strategic interest of our nation”.

CAVIE braces up for 10th anniversary

The session took place as the African Centre for Competitive Intelligence prepares to celebrate its 10th anniversary on August 3.

During the past decade, CAVIE has trained over a thousand senior public and private executives across the continent, supporting strategic institutions such as the presidency of Cote d’Ivoire and Togo, the ministries of foreign affairs of Tunisia and Benin.

Others include: the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Burkina Faso and Togo, Afriland First Bank, Mauritius Commercial Bank, the BGFI Group, the Deposit and Consignment Fund of Senegal, the Autonomous Port of Douala, Togo invest and others.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3500 of Friday July 11, 2025