Placed under the theme “AMCs, an essential link in the SMEs structuring and formalising process in the port of Kribi”, the 9th edition of the Awareness Raising Caravans on SMEs membership to Approved Management Centres in the town of Kribi comes at a time when the mission of the AMC is being disseminated among the production units located near the Kribi industrial port zone, in order to encourage them to join these centres and thus contribute to improving their structuring, profitability and competitiveness. Established by the 1997 Finance Law governing Cameroon’s financial system, AMCs are private bodies in the form of associations approved by the Ministry of Finance, whose purpose is to provide assistance in accounting and tax management, and the fulfilment of various administrative obligations to individuals or legal entities with an annual turnover of 100,000,000 CFA francs or less. AMCs also offer substantial tax benefits to member companies. The choice of the port city for this 9th edition is explained by the fact that it has seen an acceleration in the establishment of companies, particularly those in the processing sector, since it facilitates access to inputs and the proper export of goods to international markets.
The aim of this year’s event is to encourage more Very Small and Small Enterprises located around the Kribi industrial port zone to join Approved Management Centres (AMC) in order to strengthen the structure of their businesses and ensure their migration from the informal sector to the formal economy. Specifically, this will involve deploying awareness-raising caravans on AMCs in the surroundings of Regional and Local Authorities and in the city of Kribi; disseminating and raising awareness on Approved Management Centres among the main targets and the entire national entrepreneurial ecosystem; informing and raising awareness among at least 2,000 stakeholders about the tax benefits and other incentives inherent in membership to AMCs, the procedures to be completed in order to benefit from them, and the tax innovations in the Finance Law for the 2024 financial year; informing and raising awareness among stakeholders about the procedures for setting up an AMC, the services offered and their missions; building the capacities of AMC promoters with regard to the provisions of the new AMC terms of reference and the assistant inspector’s guide; increase the number of operational AMCs and the number of new memberships, etc. .
Stakeholders in this edition include MINPMEESA, MINFI (DGI and DGD), MINEPAT, MINMIDT, MINCOMMERCE, MINPOSTEL, MINJEC, MINDDEVEL, MINADER, MINEPIA, MINDEF, MINTOUL, APME, BCPME, GUCE, CNCC, ANOR, LANACOME, CTA-CAM, SONAMINES, PAK, PAD, SONARA, ALUCAM, CDC, GLOBELEQ, Boissons du Cameroun, FEICOM, BSTP, PNPE, Comité de Compétitivité, Programme d’Appui au Développement Communal (PRADEC), CNPS, CAPEF, CCIMA, and others. The other players involved are employers’ associations such as GECAM, MECAM, SYNDUSTRICAM, the AMCs umbrella organisation, financial institutions and insurance companies, approved public and private incubation structures, AMCs and development partners.
The 9th edition of AMCs is structured around 3 types of activities, namely information, awareness-raising and training activities in the form of seminars and thematic workshops; support and networking activities based on exchanges between all stakeholders and finally exhibition and promotional activities punctuated by an AMC and entrepreneurs’ village and a mobile awareness-raising caravan on AMCs in the city of Kribi.
Since 2016, MINPMEESA has organised eight awareness-raising caravans in almost all regions of the country, in conjunction with sectoral administrations, public and private organisations and various partners. The chief towns of the Centre, Littoral, Far North, East, North, Adamawa and West regions hosted one edition. The towns of Kribi and Limbe, in the South and South-West regions respectively, hosted these caravans. As a reminder, the 8th edition was held in the North-West region in Bamenda on 4 and 5 July 2023.