The Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations du Cameroun (CDEC) and the African Guarantee Fund (AGF) are set to sign a memorandum of understanding on April 21, 2026, in Nairobi, Kenya, laying the groundwork for a financing mechanism for SMEs in Cameroon. The ceremony will be attended by Richard Evina Obam, General Manager of CDEC, and Constant N’ZI, General Manager of AGF.
In Cameroon, SMEs represent over 80% of the economic fabric but face difficulties in accessing credit, heavy collateral requirements, restrictive banking conditions, and a high-risk perception by financial institutions. To overcome these obstacles, CDEC and AGF have designed a mechanism combining long-term financing and a guarantee system to reduce risks.
This mechanism, with a pilot envelope of 5 billion FCFA, is presented by CDEC as a structuring step in the progressive implementation of a tool to improve the financing of local businesses. The objective is to support productive investment, stimulate the growth of Cameroonian businesses, and foster a more dynamic and resilient economic fabric.
The scheme will primarily target SMEs that are already structured or in the start-up phase, with a particular focus on high-impact projects in local transformation and digital technology. It will, therefore, not be a question of financing ideas at the embryonic stage, but rather companies that already have a certain level of maturity and growth potential.
The governance of the mechanism will be based on active monitoring by CDEC, strict selection criteria, progressive disbursements, and a monitoring and evaluation system to secure the performance and sustainability of the projects financed.
The timetable provides for a legal and financial structuring phase to be completed by the end of June 2026, with the signing of tripartite agreements with financial partners. The first financing operations are announced for July 2026, and a progress review is scheduled for October 31, 2026.
AGF, the technical partner of the scheme, is a pan-African financial institution created in 2011, specializing in credit guarantees for African SMEs. According to official data, the fund has already helped mobilize more than $6.5 billion in financing for over 40,000 SMEs on the continent. Through this partnership, CDEC aims to position itself in development finance by tackling the risk perceived by financiers. It remains to be seen whether this mechanism will quickly reach its operational phase with effectively disbursed credits.
