Until now, creating a company – say an LLC, PLC or Sole Proprietorship in Cameroon used to be a huge nightmare owing to so many complications brought about by bureaucratic red tapes.

Would-be entrepreneurs spent months, if not years, to get a business legalized. But now, the government says it is bent on reversing the curse.

However, as far as Cameroon is concerned, it is worth stating that easing business registration in a way that eliminates time-consuming procedure is a difficult task.

This is perhaps one of the reasons President Paul Biya decided to create the Ministry of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicraft (Minpmeesa) in 2004.

Core objectives of the ministry include improving the competitiveness of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), strengthening the institutional and regulatory framework for SMEs, support Cameroon SMEs in subcontracting and rehabilitation of existing businesses.

The strategy

To achieve these objectives, the strategy chosen aims to promote private initiative and improve the business environment for SMEs in Cameroon.

It comes in multiple axes and includes the improvement of the business climate by simplifying procedures for business creation, easing access to credit for very small businesses through conventions signed with micro finance institutions and organization of the National Days of SMEs among others.

Since 2004, this ministry has striven to make life easier for Small Medium-scaled Enterprises (SMEs) and their owners. Beginning 2010, Minpmeesa embarked on a journey to open up Enterprise Creation One-stop-shops better known by its French acronym CFCE.

The shops were opened in all 10 regional capitals of Cameroon. So far, CFCE is already operational in seven regions: Yaounde in the Centre, Douala in the Littoral, Bamenda in the North West, Bafoussam in the West, Garoua in the North, Maroua in the Far North region and recently, Ebolowa in the South.

According to the Minister of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicraft (Minpmeesa) Laurent Serge Etoundi Ngoa, these Enterprise Creation One-stop-shops are major assets for economic operators and business owners.

Potential business owners will find in this facility, all the services found in the chain of enterprise creation: taxation, treasury, National Social Insurance Fund and Minpmeesa.

The Results

‘In 72 hours, an enterprise can be created. It is the wish of the Head of State H.E. Paul Biya to improve Cameroon’s business climate by setting up Enterprise Creation One-stop-shops in all regional headquarters,” Ngoa has been assuring economic operators and business owners.

The move is part of Cameroon’s desire to ameliorate its position on World Bank’s ‘Doing Business’ report where its current spot still leaves much to be desired; thus enabling Cameroon attain her 2035 goal of becoming an emerging economy.

A lot of hope, Minister Ngoa says, is built around the Enterprise Creation One-stop-shops. In this light, the Ministry of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicraft has put in place operational processes supervised by Regional Delegates of Minpmeesa to ensure a hitch-free operation of the centres.

“Since inaugurating the first Enterprise Creation One-stop-shop in 2010, we have already registered about 21,829 enterprises. The functionality of that of Maroua has come to boost this momentum and dynamite the business environment in Cameroon,” Ngoa recently revealed.

The Vision

Cameroon is battling hard to ameliorate its business climate.

In March, stakeholders in the public and private sector held fruitful exchanges at the ‘Cameroon Business Forum’ to brainstorm on how to make the dream come true.

Ngoa says the support programme for private sector development, support programme for the creation and development of SMEs specialized in the transformation of local products, which went operational since 2007, the opening in the coming days of the SME Promotion Agency, and the SME Bank are few of the steps taken by the Biya-administration to transform Cameroon’s business climate for the better.