(Business in Cameroon) – The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank Group’s private sector arm, is rolling out its “local champions” initiative in Cameroon. The technical assistance, support, and financing program, already active in Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Guinea, Togo, and Liberia, aims, according to IFC Cameroon, “to identify and prepare the most promising companies so that they become key players in regional economic development.”
As part of the initiative, the IFC has selected about thirty small and medium-sized enterprises to receive tailored technical assistance. These companies operate mainly in industry, agribusiness, and services, with the goal of strengthening their capacity to qualify for long-term financing from the World Bank Group.
A first cohort of targeted Cameroonian SMEs
Among the selected companies are several major retail players such as Groupe Arno, Dovv, and Groupe Fokou. The program also includes agro-industrial firms such as Agrifood Beverages, Agro World Group, Camlait, the Société camerounaise de savonnerie, and the Union centrale des coopératives agricoles de l’Ouest.
The initiative also covers businesses from other sectors of the economy: Cometal, Financial House, Polyclinique Poitiers, Plein Gaz, Multiprint, and Biopharma Laboratories. This selection forms a first cohort of Cameroonian SMEs identified as potential candidates for structural financing, provided they meet the IFC’s technical and financial requirements.
Toward improved access to long-term financing
From December 2 to 4 in Yaoundé, the promoters of these companies took part in a capacity-building workshop led by IFC experts. The goal was to deepen their understanding of development investor requirements and improve access to long-term financing. As explained by Ange Claver Kouassi, IFC country representative for Cameroon and the Central African Republic, “the idea is, from a panel of preselected companies, to deepen discussions on the entire investment circuit — or rather the IFC investment cycle.”
The program “does not have predefined funding,” he noted. However, in countries where the “local champions” initiative has already been implemented, financing provided to companies has reached the equivalent of about CFA12 billion (nearly $20 million). For the selected Cameroonian SMEs, the initiative serves as preparation for a potential capital raise with the IFC, depending on project maturity and their ability to meet the institution’s investment criteria.
Ludovic Amara
