The Bank Won’t Fund Everything. Maybe We Should!

On Saturday, at the National Youth Economic Forum, one argument kept returning to the room: many Cameroonian SMEs are not yet ready for investment. The panelists were not dismissing entrepreneurs. They were pointing to a real issue. Many small businesses have energy, customers, and ambition, but weak bookkeeping, unclear ownership structures, thin governance, and little investor reporting. In finance language, they are active businesses, but not always investable businesses.

That distinction matters.

Cameroon does not have an SME shortage. The country’s stock of active SMEs rose 6.5% in 2025 to 472,208, according to the 2025 Statistical Yearbook presented in Yaoundé by SME Minister Achille Bassilekin III. SMEs now account for 83% of Cameroon’s 569,208 formal economic units. Together with social economy organisations and artisanal production units, they make up 99.9% of the formal productive sector. That is not a side sector. That is the economy breathing through small businesses.

There is also encouraging momentum. In 2025, 16,845 new SMEs were registered. Young entrepreneurs under 35 created 42% of new SMEs, up from 36.4% in 2019, while women created 33%, up from 25%. Newly created SMEs, social economy organisations and artisanal units are expected to generate nearly 90,000 jobs, with SMEs accounting for 88.4% of those projected positions. This is a powerful signal: Cameroon’s youth are not waiting for the perfect economy. They are building inside the economy they have.

PROMOTE 2026 showed this same energy. The Yaoundé trade fair brought together about 1,000 exhibitors, including 236 local SMEs. Afriland First Bank sponsored 40 SMEs, while the Ministry of Economy supported 100 local businesses. The fair was full of products, conversations and ambition. But the big question remains: after visibility, what comes next? A booth can attract attention. It cannot replace capital.

This is where Cameroon’s financing challenge begins. Banks remain important, but bank loans are not always designed for early-stage SMEs. BEAC data cited by Business in Cameroon show that SMEs received CFA358.2 billion in loans in Q3 2024, representing 21.3% of total corporate credit, while large companies received CFA1,139.6 billion, or 67.8%. SMEs also borrow at higher rates: 8.98% on average versus 6.88% for large firms. When fees and risk premiums are added, effective SME borrowing costs can rise much higher.

Banks have reasons for caution. IFC and APECCAM discussions in Douala identified SME credit risk as a major barrier, with default rates estimated around 20%, compared with an international benchmark closer to 5%. That means banks see many SMEs as costly to evaluate and risky to fund. But this should not be the end of the story. It should be the beginning of a better one.

The opportunity is to build a bridge between “not yet investment-ready” and “ready for growth capital.” Minister Bassilekin III has already called for a shift from ad hoc support to structural tools: tailored financing, guarantee funds, equipment support and better market access. The announced MINPMEESA–UNDP Entrepreneurship Support Exchange also points in this direction, with plans to improve access to finance, certification, formalisation and innovation support.

Summith’s argument is simple: we should all be investors. Not reckless investors. Community investors. People who understand local businesses, local customers and local risk. Cameroonians already invest informally through njangis, family support, supplier credit and diaspora transfers. The next step is to make that community capital more structured.

The benefits are clear. Community investing can provide smaller tickets than banks, faster decisions, patient capital and mentoring. A local investor may understand why a food processor needs packaging equipment before a fancy office. A diaspora investor may help a fashion brand reach new markets. A njangi-style investment club can support a promising neighbourhood business and share the upside.

But there are risks. Many SMEs still need better records, clearer shareholder agreements, proper pricing, basic governance and honest reporting. Community investing without structure can destroy relationships. Everyone is happy when the business grows. Everyone becomes a lawyer when money disappears.

So the solution is not blind optimism. It is disciplined optimism. SMEs must become more transparent. Investors must become more educated. Banks, DFIs, angel networks and platforms like Summith can help standardise deal screening, reporting, valuation and investor education.

Cameroon has the entrepreneurs. It has community money. It has a market need.

Now it needs the culture.

Because the future of SME finance may not start with one big bank cheque. It may start with 50 Cameroonians each investing carefully in one local business they understand. That is how capital becomes community. And that is how small businesses become investable companies.