(Business in Cameroon) - On February 20, during a national workshop on the theme "Crowdfunding: participatory financing at the service of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)," held in Douala, the Minister of Finance Louis Paul Motaze expressed his optimism about the development of this type of financing in Cameroon.

"Seeing participants’ passion and interest, I am still convinced that crowdfunding is bound to be successful and developed in our country,” said Louis Paul Motaze. This response was provided to a question as to whether the limited access to the Internet (30% penetration rate in 2020) is not a roadblock for the development of crowdfunding.

"We must adopt this method of financing, master and organize it for our benefit in order to make the most of it and transform it into a real opportunity for actors of the national economic system, SMEs especially. We will have to increase opportunities offered by Crowdfunding to substantially transform the national economic fabric,”  advised the Minister of Finance. The government "is fully aware" of the challenge posed by the limited access to Internet, he added. Hence this workshop in Douala.

According to the latest data by the Bank of Central African States (Beac), the annualized growth rate of amounts raised by Cameroon on the crowdfunding site Kiva (XAF1.1 billion) was 42.8% between June and September 2017. "At this rate, the total funds raised by Cameroon on this platform could be multiplied by a factor of 17 by 2025," the Beac projects.

S.A.