A business networking dinner designed to directly connect Cameroonian entrepreneurs with financiers, sponsors and economic decision-makers is scheduled for May 2nd at Hôtel Concord in Yaounde. The event, called Cocktail Dînatoire des Entrepreneurs, is organized by Vision Entrepreneuriat Cameroun (Vecam).
The event will focus on one of the most documented constraints on private sector growth in sub-Saharan Africa: access to finance. Cameroonian entrepreneurs, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, continue to face structural barriers in securing funding and business support, limiting their capacity to scale.
According to Yaël Motaze, founder and president of Vecam, the event is a direct response to that gap. “We know how difficult it is to grow in isolation in entrepreneurship, but above all to obtain financing or support. This framework responds to the significant demand for financial and even logistical support for entrepreneurs,” she said.
Organizers say the program includes experience and vision-sharing sessions, strategic networking, identification of partnership opportunities, and structured exchanges between participants. A dedicated networking session is designed to facilitate direct introductions between entrepreneurs and potential financial partners.
“There are entrepreneurs who struggle to approach sponsors and identify genuine financial potential. That is why we have planned a connection session where we will, in a way, push entrepreneurs towards financiers,” Motaze said.
The event targets a broad stakeholder mix, including business owners, financial institutions, sponsors and economic decision-makers. organizers said the ultimate objective is to rebuild Cameroon’s entrepreneurial ecosystem through concrete, outcome-oriented exchanges.
Motaze set measurable expectations for the event’s outcome. “At the end of this meeting, we hope to have a multitude of testimonials about financing granted and that support arrangements become effective,” she said.
Cocktail Dînatoire des Entrepreneurs is the latest in a series of structured business networking initiatives emerging across Francophone Africa, where formal financing channels for SMEs remain limited and relationship-based deal-making continues to be a primary route to capital.
Mercy Fos
