Structures under the ministry’s supervision
PROGRAMMES’ SET UP BY MINPMEESA
I- PMEAA : Support Programme for Agriculture and Agrifood Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (PMEAA).
I-1 Programme description
The PMEAAs are an important source of growth, of entrepreneurship promotion, of fight against youth unemployment and poverty reduction, but their potential remains largely under-exploited. This is why a financial support of CFAF 3.279.785 billion (five million Euros) have been granted for the implementation of the Support Programme to support Agriculture and Agri-Food SMEs, within the framework of the second Debt Reduction and Development Contract (C2D) between the Republic of Cameroon and the French Republic, with reference to the GESP and the Vision of Cameroon by 2035, under the supervision of the Ministry of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, the Social Economy and Handicrafts. The naming Conventon No CCM126601 N between the French Development Agency and the Republic of Cameroon was signed on the 3rd July 2015 at the Unity Palace during the recent official visit of the President of the French Republic to the Republic of Cameroon.
The programme aims at developing activities for the production, processing and marketing of agricultural products through financial and non-financial support for SMEs in rural areas.
I-2 Actions to be taken
This programme aims at:
- Improving technical and economic information on the main sectors in the targeted production basins for the various private and institutional actors (component 1);
- Improving access to credit for SMEs by better matching financial products to their needs (component 2);
- Developing the management capacities of SMEs through the establishment of a local offer of training and non-financial services adapted to needs (component 3).
More specifically, component 1 “Techno-economic Information Service (SITE) and animation of each of the two basins” aims at facilitating the access of beneficiaries (SMEs, Farmers’ and Food-processing SMEs, Peasant / Professional Organisations, Microfinance Institutions, Business Support Services, others…) to technical and economic information that is useful to them in making strategic and operational decisions; to promote communication and exchanges between these actors by taking advantage of the effects of a “pole” for the emergence of innovations and their diffusion.
II- PADSP-CAM : Cameroon Private Sector Development Support Programme (PADSP)
ii-1 Programme description
Supported by the triptych, accelerating growth, strengthening formal job creation, reducing poverty, the Cameroon Private Sector Development Support Programme (PADSP-CAM) is an initiative of the Government of Cameroon aimed at strengthening business competitiveness, creating decent jobs and fighting poverty. With a budget of 5,810,000,000CFA francs, it is financed by the Government of Cameroon on the one hand, the Business Development Centre and the Development Partners on the other hand. It is managed by a project management unit. The Business Development Centre acts as project manager under the supervision of the Coordination Committee co-chaired by MINPMEESA (Ministry of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, the Social Economy and Handicrafts) and MINEPAT (Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development). To implement this programme, the Government of Cameroon and the Business Development Centre signed on the 22 October 2012 in Yaoundé, the naming convention No. 000001/CDE/MINEPAT/MINPMEESA, by Laurent Serge ETOUNDI NGOA and Emmanuel NGANOU DJOUMESSI for the Cameroon Government and Paul FRIX on behalf of the Business Development Centre.
The PADSP CAM aims, in the long term at setting up and operating 7 clusters and an inter-professional organisation around the following 10 target sectors:
- Wood
- Livestock and production of cattle feed
- Horticulture export
- Agri-food processing
- Tourism/exportation
- Palm oil mill and soap making
- Industrial maintenance and mechanical manufacturing
- SPX and related services
- Milk and dairy products
- ICT services
The overall objective of this programme is to contribute to Cameroon’s strategies to restore economic competitiveness, develop employment and fight against poverty.
These objectives constitute the six (6) strategic axes of the programme, broken down into actions and which form its backbone, whose activities are grouped around three following components
- Component 1: Coordination and structuring of the seven clusters,
- Component 2: The implementation of collective initiatives,
- Component 3: Capitalisation, communication and sustainability of good practices.
The provisional overall budget for the 3 years:
The Cameroon Private Sector Development Support Programme (PADSP-CAM) has a budget of CFAF 5,810,000,000. It is funded by the Government of Cameroon on the one hand, the CDE (Enterprise Development Centre ) and the Development Partners (PAD) on the other hand.
III- PACD/PME : (Support Programme for SMEs Creation and Development for the Processing and Conservation of Local Mass Consumer Products).
III-1 Overview
In 2006, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) published several studies on the agri-food sector in Cameroon that highlight the untapped potential and constraints of this sector. The very low level of development of SMEs involved in the processing and conservation of local mass consumption products is noted.
It is on this vein that the Ministry of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicrafts decided, in accordance with its missions as defined by Decree No. 2004/320 of 8 December 2004 to organise the Government, to implement a Programme to Support for the SMEs Creation and Development for the processing and conservation of local mass consumption products.
The PACD/PME is in line with the objectives of Cameroon’s Integrated Programme to Support the Sustainable Industrial Development and the Growth and Employment Strategy Paper in which the Government has defined its development priorities, based on the promotion of the private sector that creates resources and jobs, and on the development of the country’s enormous agricultural potential.
The PACD/PME is a powerful tool for implementing this government strategy, as it aims at facilitating (i) the creation of 150 small industrial units, (ii) the processing of local raw materials, and (iii) the creation of jobs and wealth in rural and peri-urban areas.
III-2 Balance sheet:
As at 31 December 2014, the programme’s portfolio included 46 projects, 30 of which were functional, representing a 20% achievement rate of the programme’s overall objective of supporting the implementation of 150 projects to create and develop SMEs for the processing and conservation of local mass consumption products.