The government of Cameroon has intensified efforts aimed at boosting its economy to tackle the rising unemployment rate caused by its prolonged political crisis and security challenges. In this regard, it is working in partnership with the African Export-Import Bank through a process of identifying projects in the key sectors to assist the country to achieve a rapid transformation of the economy through trade. This was made known the Global Head of Client Relations of the Bank, Rene Awambeng who was in Douala, Cameroon, to present the Bank’s products, programmes and facilities to the business community.
Mr. Awambeng informed the Cameroonian business community that Afreximbank was committed to assisting the country to execute priority trade enabling infrastructure. The Bank also promised to support the country to expand its manufacturing capacity through the development of logistics, industrial parks and processing plants for key commodities, in addition to providing trade finance for the import of capital goods to support industrialization, he said. Other areas of support include facilitation of export of processed/manufactured goods and support to Cameroonian businesses to access regional and continental markets, especially in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
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Over the years, Afreximbank had financed the construction, expansion and refurbishment of trade enabling infrastructure across the continent, stated Mr. Awambeng. It was also supporting African countries to diversify their economies away from dependence on mono-export, by partnering with governments and international manufactures/processors to promote value addition, implementing financing and non-financing programmes to prepare businesses to take advantage of the AfCFTA, and providing support to local banks meet trade finance obligations.
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Celestin Tawamba, President of Le Groupemen Inter patronal du Cameroun (GICAM), the leading network of business leaders in Cameroon, said that the major challenges confronting business promoters in the Central Africa region included difficulty in mobilising financing for projects and lack of access to trade information.
The roadshow was, therefore, an opportunity for the members of the private sector to exchange ideas with a key financial institution in order to obtain information about available solutions that could assist in addressing the specific difficulties of businesses in the region, he said.
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Responding, Dr. Fritz Ntone Ntone, the chief representative of the Government Delegate to the Douala City Council, said that, with the entry into force of the AfCFTA, the programmes and facilities from Afreximbank presented major opportunities for businesses in Cameroon and the Central Africa region to engage in intra-African trade. The roadshow featured presentations on the various products, programmes and facilities offered by Afreximbank to promote and support trade across Africa.
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More than 250 business leaders from all the key sectors of the Cameroonian economy participated in the roadshow which was hosted in the offices of GICAM.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry