(Business in Cameroon) – The Union of Cameroonian Enterprises (GECAM) has published its latest opinion survey for the second quarter of 2025, reporting that production costs have fallen compared with the previous quarter. The findings form part of the organisation’s regular dashboard on national economic performance, outlining how enterprises assessed conditions affecting production, sales, turnover and financial solidity.
The results indicate that business leaders perceived a reduction in production-related expenditure during the period under review, marking a shift from the pressures recorded in earlier months. The survey also highlights the significance of these changes for firms operating across multiple sectors, providing a snapshot of how current economic dynamics are reshaping operational environments.
According to GECAM’s report, company heads evaluated a series of indicators including production levels, sales volumes, turnover, stock levels, employment and treasury positions. The organisation confirms that concerns surrounding production costs declined during the second quarter, with respondents signalling lower spending compared with the first three months of 2025.
GECAM’s Executive Director, Aline Valérie Mbono, attributes this development to the progressive stabilisation of inflation-related pressures observed through the first quarter. However, the survey also records significant constraints. More than 83% of companies reported difficulties accessing energy, up 10 percentage points from the previous quarter. In addition, 77% of firms cited challenges in obtaining financing, an increase of more than 15 points. These conditions affected supply chains, production capacities and cash flow, resulting in negative impacts on quarterly performance and liquidity.
Presenting the findings, GECAM’s Executive Director, Aline Valérie Mbono, noted that the fall in production-cost concerns reflected “a progressive stabilisation of the inflationary constraints observed up to the first quarter of 2025.” The organisation observes that despite this trend, companies continued to face substantial operational constraints. Firm leaders emphasised persistent pressures related to energy availability, access to financing, and supply-chain conditions, which influenced both production outcomes and treasury balances during the period.
The second-quarter results position the business climate within a broader economic context marked by fluctuating inflation, infrastructure bottlenecks and tightening financial conditions. The increase in reported difficulties related to energy access and financing has direct implications for productivity, operating margins and the overall cost environment across sectors.
GECAM identifies several measures to ease these constraints, including reducing charges for small and medium-sized enterprises, improving access to energy, lowering port-passage costs, and enhancing liquidity by reducing payment delays on public and private contracts. The organisation also highlights the need to accelerate the clearance of domestic arrears and state-owned receivables to support enterprise cash flow. The survey’s findings contribute to ongoing assessments of economic resilience and provide a comparative basis for monitoring developments in subsequent quarters.
Mercy Fosoh
