(Business in Cameroon) - The Inter-Patronal Grouping of Cameroon (GICAM), the French Development Agency (AFD), and PROPARCO (the AFD’s branch dedicated to the private sector) recently signed a partnership agreement to develop a Central African Corporate Governance Code.  

"The aim of the Corporate Governance Code will notably be to promote a business environment conducive for investments. Good governance is a key factor that ensures businesses’ continuity and is also an added value for them.  It helps establish confidence in the management and the monitoring of companies’ operations. It is also a good way to help limit financial risks for investors and lenders,” the GICAM indicated.  

According to the terms of the partnership agreement, GICAM, which is the largest employers’ grouping in Cameroon, will develop the code in close collaboration with companies and authorities while international consulting firm Nestor Advisors will provide technical assistance. As for PROPARCO and the AFD, they will provide financial assistance

In 2018, GICAM elaborated a Corporate Governance Statement to promote corporate citizenship and sustainable development in Cameroon. The said statement led to the creation of a task force named  "Initiative bonne gouvernance d’entreprises" (the Corporate Governance Statement Initiative). Created in December 2019, the taskforce is presided by Jacques Jonathan Nyemb, a business lawyer and member of GICAM’s administrative board. The diagnostic studies of this task force will serve as the base for the planned governance code.

S.A.