In Cameroon, 12,875 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) were created as of December 1, 2024. Although there was a drop of 6,776 SMEs (-34.4%) compared to the 19,651 SMEs which saw the day in 2023, they contributed to the creation of 34,558 new jobs. These figures were revealed by Prime Minister Joseph Dion during the presentation of the country’s economic, financial, social and cultural program for the 2025 financial year to the National Assembly.
The head of government did not dwell on the motives which led to this drop. However, the “Industrial Business Climate Survey Report” suggests an unfavorable entrepreneurial environment that may discourage entrepreneurs. The report published in December 2023 by the Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development (Minépat) demonstrates, for example, that 91% of business leaders in the industrial sector find the costs linked to the employment rate high. interest in terms of financing, 59% of them consider the conditionalities imposed by the banks to be restrictive while 91% of business leaders think that financial support remains insufficient.
In terms of production factors, 78% of industrialists surveyed by Minépat believe that access to water is difficult, 87% of them have the same perception of access to electricity, 62% for telephone services, 75% for internet access. Still according to the same survey, 76% of business leaders find access to land difficult while 92% are unanimous on the fact that the roads are in poor condition.
However, the 2022 analysis report from the Ministry of SMEs in Cameroon indicates that they constitute the lungs of the country’s economy. The proof, explains the document, the Cameroonian economic fabric is made up of 99.8% of SMEs of which 79.32% are Very Small Enterprises (VSE), 19.43% of Small Enterprises (PE) against 1.25% of medium-sized enterprises (ME).
Committed to the national development strategy (SND30) which targets a growth rate of 8% in 2030 compared to 4% in 2024, must however boost the primary and secondary sectors in order to increase local production, stimulate industrial transformation in the priority sectors (agriculture, livestock, etc.). The goal is to accelerate growth and be able to limit imports of mass consumer products. “Depending on the distribution by sector of activity, these players in our productive fabric are 82.2% in the tertiary sector, 15.63% in the secondary sector and only 0.17% in the primary sector,” explains Achille Bassilekin III, Minister of SMEs, Social Economy and Crafts
Source: EM
