At PROMOTE: Cameroonian Bank for SMEs unveils offers for agro-pastoralists, fish farmers.

During the over a-week-long fair, which ended on yesterday, June 21, emphasis of the bank’s offers was laid on product and services targeting actors in the agro-pastoral and fisheries sectors.

In line with its mission of accompanying and supporting Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, SMEs, and craftsmen, the SMEs Bank has adopted the sector approach and the development of banking business as part of the implementation of its Strategic Development Plan. 

The plan is refocusing on its fundamental missions in order to participate in a decisive and structuring manner in the realisation of government’s import substitution policy.

Speaking at PROMOTE, the BC-PME Head of Legal Affairs, Christelle Mbarga epse Tsade, explained that they are providing financial support to business promoters, through the granting of short, medium and long-term loans to SMEs.

She explained that any SME, irrespective of sector, can present a project for financing, which is then evaluated based on its potential contribution to the country's economic development.

Mbarga further recounted that their participation at PROMOTE 2026 has enabled them to unveil a new strategic direction aimed at boosting local production and reducing the overdependence on imports.

Unlike previous editions of the trade fair during which the bank was allocated stand near its supervising ministry, the Ministry of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, this year it chose to position itself alongside other financial institutions to signal collaboration in addressing financing challenges of SMEs.

“In an environment like ours, at the time of setting it up, it was quite difficult for the SMEs Bank to integrate, because it is a new bank that is coming, and it is run by the state. The others in front of us saw us as being a competitor, but did not immediately understand the contribution that the SMEs Bank brought to this ecosystem of financial institutions,” she said.

Accessing financing

Quizzed on issues of accessing financing, Mbarga acknowledged that securing funds requires a viable and bankable project. She insisted that for entrepreneurs with promising ideas that are not yet fully structured, the BC-PME offers an accompaniment phase through SME Promotion Agency which helps develop the concept into a solid business plan before forwarding it for financing consideration. 

Noting that priority is given to projects which aligned with the government's development goals and priority sectors, she mentioned that well-structured projects can move quickly through the approval process.

“A bank specialised in the financial support of small and medium-sized businesses in various areas. That is, today we have the services, we have the agricultural domain, we have the industrial domain. As long as you are an SME, an artisanal production unit, you can be a client of the SMEs Bank, you can present your project to the SMEs Bank, which will analyse it, and make sure that the project, is one that has the final objective of contributing to the economic development of Cameroon,” she explained.

Addressing issues related to public perception, the SMEs Bank official noted that the bank has disbursed over 100 billion FCFA in loans over the past decade, despite limited public communication during its early years. 

She explained that the institution deliberately prioritised building trust and credibility with funding partners, before focusing on visibility, which allowed misinformation to spread unchecked in some circles.  

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3825 of Monday June 22, 2026