The Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises, Social Economy and Crafts (Minpmeesa) presented today in Yaoundé the 13th edition of the Statistical Yearbook on small and medium-sized enterprises, social economy organizations and craftsmen for the year 2023.
According to this document, the socio-economic fabric includes 393,166 SMEs, of which 19,651 were created that same year. In 2023, these new SMEs generated nearly 137,847 jobs, mainly in the primary sector (agriculture, fishing, mining), followed by the tertiary sector (trade, services) and the secondary sector. In detail, there are 377 SMEs in the primary sector, nearly 80,000 in the secondary sector, and more than 312,000 in the tertiary sector. Douala and Yaoundé alone account for 57.4% of Cameroon’s SMEs, with a marked predominance in Douala (33.5%). Among the companies in operation, 97% are sole traders.
At the same time, Minpmeesa statistics for 2023 reveal that the SMEs’ Bank has released 7 billion FCFA for the financing of SMEs, of which 51% was allocated to construction and 43% to services and ICT. On the other hand, the agro-industrial sector absorbed only 1% of the funds, as did textiles and energy. It should also be noted that in 2022, 15,601 SMEs were created, compared to 15,591 in 2021, highlighting a constant growth in the SME sector in Cameroon.