(Business in Cameroon) - On July 13, 2018, in Douala, Thomas Ngué Bissa, the national coordinator of the Agriculture Investment and Market Development (Project le Coordonnateur national du Projet d’investissement et de développement des marchés agricoles-PIDMA) for which World Bank disbursed CFA50 billion, signed three new partnership agreements with microfinance institutions.
Thanks to these agreements, Caisse d’épargne et de crédit de la solidarité (Cepac), Financière d’épargne et de crédit (Figec SA) and Mutengene Savings and Loans Cooperative Society (MSLCS LTD), become financial partners in the framework of the project aimed at boosting the production of cassava, sorghum, and corn in Cameroon for the local agribusinesses supply.
"In the short term, these framework agreements will help complete the financing of four cooperatives’ producing sub-projects namely, two in the corn sector and two in the cassava sector. We believe that by signing these agreements with the microfinance institutions, the number of sub-projects effectively financed and implemented by the PIDMA will increase”, Thomas Ngué Bissa said.
According to an internal source at the coordination of PIDMA, with these agreements, the number of business plans financed in the short term should reach 23 with the financial support of five banks (Bicec, Société générale, Afriland First Bank, Ecobank, Banque camerounaise des PME), and four microfinance institutions (Renaprov Finances, Cepac, Figec SA and Mutengene Savings and Loans Cooperative).
Let’s remind that according to the cost and risk scheme which entered into application in May 2018, cooperative’s business plan is financed by PIDMA when at least 10% of this fund comes from the cooperative, 20% from the financial partner and less than 70% from PIDMA.
The loan consented by the financial partner is the remaining fund to be provided after the cooperative funds are deduced from the amount required to implement the bankable business plans prepared by those cooperatives (which should be already established companies) with the help of PIDMA experts.
Brice R. Mbodiam