(Business in Cameroon) - Wamkele Mene, the Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), presented last June 27 the project to develop a digital payment platform dedicated to SMEs. He was in a meeting with the Cameroonian Minister of Trade Luc Magloire Mbarga Atanagana in Yaoundé.

The South African official said a marketplace will eventually be created to facilitate trade between countries. To ease its access to SMEs, the AfCFTA is already negotiating with banking institutions that could provide guarantees, as SMEs often find it hard to secure credit and financing from the formal banking circuit. Once this issue is addressed, SMEs will be able to trade, buy and sell, with the support of banking institutions that will have to cover certain risks. Initially, the digital platform will be open to companies active in agriculture, textiles, pharmaceuticals, and transport.

The AfCFTA is a priority initiative of the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063. The project currently includes 44 countries, including Cameroon. It aims to accelerate intra-African trade and strengthen the commercial position of the continent on the international market.

S.A.