The eighth edition of the Cameroon Business Forum (CBF) was held last week in Douala. The forum brought together the government and the business community, to chart ways of identifying barriers to improving the business climate as well as reviewing previous resolutions.
Philemon Yang Cameroonian Prime Minister said: “The government is making efforts with a goal to facilitate the creation and development of private enterprises and to make them more competitive in order to stimulate economic growth and create more jobs. It is therefore up to economic operators to take advantage of the measures put in place and to work towards the creation of viable enterprises “.
But strengthening the rule of law with a view of a healthy business environment is what the local business community desires most.
“The Cameroonian government loses 300 billion dollars in tax revenues per year. The actors and trademark owners lose twice, so you now see this is a fairly serious problem. I reminded you earlier of the currency counterfeiting and other organised finance crimes. It is true that the Cameroonian SMEs are facing many problems, such as access to credit, capacity building and availability of markets,” said Michel Kenfack president of Cameroon’s SMEs Union.
“We have poor infrastructure, and the logistics chain still has many limitations. The railway is not efficient enough for freight services. We also have power and energy issues,” added Kate Fotso, an international trade expert and business leader.
Key of the preliminary resolutions at the forum included setting up of an escrow account dedicated to the reimbursement of VAT refunds, establishment of electronic payment points in the divisional tax centres as well as setting up of an interactive online portal for tracking credit repayment files. Read more here.