The Minister of SMEs, Social Economy and Handicrafts, Achille BASSILEKIN III on May 6th 2022 received in audience the Vice President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Mr Thomas Östros at the emergence building. Amongst other objectives, the audience which is part of the EIB high-level mission to Cameroon is particularly focused on capitalizing on the cooperation opportunities with the EIB.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!As such, this visit aims at pursuing exchanges with EIB officials with a view of creating other finance opportunities in favour of Cameroonian SMEs. Furthermore, this visit also gives room for MINPMEESA to solicit from the EIB the mobilisation of other financial partners around the Cameroonian entrepreneurial ecosystem and to review to which extent it could support the project to set up the Cameroon Global Innovation Centre, envisaged in partnership with the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). It should be noted that the financing of SMEs is one of the priority areas of intervention of the EIB, particularly in its deployment in Cameroon, hence the interest of Mr Thomas Östros for Cameroon.The rich exchanges between both parties in the course of the audience made it possible to understand the interest of the EIB vis-à-vis Cameroonian SMEs. Moreover, several other areas of collaboration were mentioned and will be the subject of more in-depth discussions with the local representatives of this financial institution.Heading a strong delegation in which his bank and the European Union are represented, Mr Thomas Östros declared that the role of the EIB in helping Cameroonian SMEs grow will be through the approximately 30 million Euro support that the EIB is granting to Cameroonian SMEs through 2 local banks.Minister Achille BASSILEKIN III on his part remained optimistic that the specific credit line from the EIB will be beneficial for the growth and development of SMEs given that the loans are accompanied by convenient terms and conditions, low interest rates and efficient technical assistances that will permit that the financial dispositions made available for SMEs will be effective and permit SMEs to meet up their financial needs. He remained optimistic that the EIB through its capital and expertise acquired will also assist MINPMEESA with its technical expertise for the management of the finances geared towards the growth of SMEs.To make this visit a reality, it is worth noting that a financing agreement for the opening of a credit line of 27 million euros with CCA BANK (15 million euros) and CBC BANK (12 million euros) respectively to meet the needs of SMEs was signed at the Ministry of Finance between the State of Cameroon represented by MINFI, MINEPAT and MINPMEESA on the one hand and the EIB, CBC Bank and CCA Bank on the other. This credit line comes at the right time when SMEs are faced with challenges on accessing funds for their various activities. The managers of the afore-mentioned two banking structures welcomed this initiative while guaranteeing that these funds will be used wisely for the greater good of Cameroonian SMEs.
Daniel Richard NDIEH