The poor access of small and medium-sized enterprises to public procurement is a major concern of the Cameroon Subcontracting and Partnership Exchange. The institution points out that the Cameroonian Government has put in place regulatory mechanisms and an institutional organization, necessary to help Cameroonian companies to better position themselves on the local market and easily access sub-regional and international markets. "Only several SMEs do not have this information and those that do do not always master the outlines and conditions to be met to win this category of contracts", notes Evariste Yameni, the Executive Director of the SPX. It is to remove this ambiguity that the organization for which he is responsible invited the Ministry of Public Procurement to come and equip SMEs through a consultation workshop.

Opening the workshop, the Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicrafts (MINPMEESA) pointed out that the government is the biggest purchaser of goods and services in developing countries, with spending ranging from 9% to 13% of gross domestic product (GDP). “This observation testifies to the fact that in a country such as ours, public procurement is a real opportunity for increasing the turnover of SMEs which, it should be remembered, constitute 98% of the Cameroonian entrepreneurial fabric”, says Achille Basilekin III. The Minister then invited SMEs, which according to him already have a number of advantages to promote, particularly in terms of local know-how and innovation, to engage in this fertile ground.

Heated discussions and recommendations

The main speakers presented in turn the normative and operational mechanism to facilitate the increase in access of SMEs/SMIs to public procurement in force. Followed by an inventory of the strengths and weaknesses of SMEs in the award and execution of public contracts. Two other presentations furnished the scheduled exchanges which had many questions from more than a hundred participants. These include the one relating to the major obstacles to the development of SMEs through public procurement and the last, on the current place of SMEs in public procurement and positioning strategies of the SPX-CMR. About ten recommendations were made by the participants to the Ministry of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicrafts, the Ministry of Public Procurement and the Subcontracting and Partnership Exchange of the Cameroon.

Attachment(s) :
Principale recommandation de l'atelier de concertation entre le MINMAP et le secteur privé