(Business in Cameroon) – Businesses in Cameroon were the main beneficiaries of new bank loans in Q3 2024, the Central Bank Beac recently reported. Companies secured a total of CFA 1,497.8 billion in loans, representing 89.1% of the total credit issued, compared to CFA 1,216.2 billion a year earlier.
However, the distribution of credit between Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and large businesses (GEs) highlights a significant imbalance. Large businesses received 67.8% of the total credit, amounting to CFA 1,139.6 billion, while SMEs only received 21.3%, or CFA 358.2 billion. Despite SMEs officially making up 80% of the country’s industrial sector, large companies received three times more credit than SMEs between July and September 2024.
While interest rates for SMEs dropped significantly, the rates for large businesses remained steady. BEAC data showed that SME interest rates fell by 3.26% year-on-year, reaching 8.98% by the end of September 2024, compared to 12.24% in 2023. In contrast, large businesses continued to pay a stable 6.88% interest rate on their loans.
This shift toward lower rates for SMEs can be attributed to efforts by international financial institutions like the IFC and EIB, which have provided credit lines to commercial banks to encourage them to offer loans to SMEs at better terms. Despite these efforts, however, SMEs still struggle to access sufficient financing, with large companies dominating the banking sector.
