(Business in Cameroon) – The International Trade Center (ITC) and Cameroon’s Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Promotion Agency recently concluded a four-day training session in Yaoundé, Cameroon’s capital. This initiative was designed to help local SMEs take advantage of the opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The initiative aligns with the “How to Export with the AfCFTA Training Program”, which is a collaboration between ITC and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank). Combining online and in-person elements, the program aims to teach current and aspiring African exporters the basics of AfCFTA, which grants African businesses access to a market of 1.3 billion consumers.
Cameroon began utilizing AfCFTA trade benefits in October 2022. That month, Gic Afatex became the first company to receive certification to export goods under AfCFTA rules, sending safou fruits, dried pineapples, and ginger to Ghana. Shortly after, two other Cameroonian agribusinesses, Cameroon Tea Estate and Ndawara Tea Estate, exported 38.6 kilograms of tea to Ghana under the same framework.
Cameroon’s first AfCFTA-supported import occurred on July 2, 2023, at the Kribi Deep Sea Port. The shipment included resin imported from Tunisia by Inoda Industries Sarl, a company specializing in paints and coatings. On July 5, 2024, the country marked another milestone at the Douala port when Trade Minister Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana oversaw the first containerized export under AfCFTA rules. This shipment comprised 99.4 tons of aluminum ingots produced by the Cameroonian Aluminum Company (Alucam), transported in four 20-foot containers to Algeria.
