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2 clusters · 8 sources · 7 days · First seen · Last updated

SME credit access challenges in Cameroon

Overview

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Cameroon face significant disparities in access to affordable bank credit compared to large corporations. While the gap between SME lending rates and those for large companies narrowed slightly from 5.17 percentage points in late 2024 to 4.71 percentage points in late 2025, SMEs still face a substantially higher total cost of borrowing, with an average effective rate of 11.43% in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Structural challenges in the Cameroonian financial sector include a high rate of non-performing loans near 16% and limited bank capacity to assess borrower solvency. These factors, along with a lack of long-term financing for industrial modernization, continue to hinder smaller businesses. To address these issues, the Groupement inter-patronal du Cameroun (Gecam) has initiated dialogue sessions, such as ‘Je parle à mon banquier’, to facilitate communication between business leaders and financial institutions like CCA Bank.

Entities

CCA Bank · SMEs · GECAM · Bank of Central African States · Cameroon

Timeline

  1. [BUSINESS] 6 sources
    Banque de France reports rising credit costs for SMEs

    Banque de France data shows rising credit costs for French SMEs and a decline in cash flow credit, despite an overall increase in total bank loans to non-financial corporations.

  2. [BUSINESS] 2 sources
    Cameroon SMEs face high borrowing costs despite narrowing credit gap

    Cameroonian SMEs face higher borrowing costs than large firms, with effective lending rates at 11.43% compared to 6.72%. Gecam and CCA Bank are initiating dialogues to improve credit access.

Sources

1001web.fr · businessincameroon.com · economieducameroun.info · esteval.fr · fr.euronews.com · lenouveleconomiste.fr · mindfintech.fr · nouvelles-du-monde.com