(Business in Cameroon) - On July 18, 2019, in Douala, Cameroonian minister of SMEs Achille Bassilekin (photo at the centre) inaugurated maison de la PME. This institution was launched by Société Générale Cameroun to facilitate access to funding for SMEs.  

This institution was created in the framework of the programme "Grow with Africa" launched by french group Société Générale in November 2018, in Dakar, Senegal. One of the programme’s goals is to boost African SMEs’ development. According to the French group, SMEs constitute 90% of all the private companies existing in Africa. In addition, they provide 70% of jobs on the continent.

Grow Africa wants to increase Société Générale’s loans to African SMEs by 60% (€40 billion) within 5 years. This will increase the loans to €10 billion, the French bank’s managing director Frédéric Oudéa indicated during a press conference organized on November 29, 2019, in Dakar, Senegal.

BRM