Cameroon wants to widen state-backed loan guarantees so that young people and women who run businesses can borrow from banks without the collateral lenders normally demand. Finance Minister Louis Paul Motaze set out the approach at the 12th Cameroon Business Forum, held in Douala on 22 and 23 October 2026, according to Business in Cameroon, citing the Ministry of Finance (MINFI).
The plan rests on Cameroon loan guarantees that already exist on paper. The question for entrepreneurs is whether this round of political attention turns them into loans that actually reach small firms.
What Motaze announced on Cameroon loan guarantees
Motaze cited a CFAF 200 billion credit facility for young and women entrepreneurs. The aim, as reported, is to let the state carry part of the risk when a borrower cannot offer enough security, so banks are more willing to lend.
He paired the offer with a warning. Applicants, he said, need to prepare their projects properly: business plans, supporting documents and a clear understanding of what lenders require. "We do not promote mediocrity, but what is good," Motaze said, according to MINFI.
MINFI did not say whether the CFAF 200 billion facility is the same mechanism as an earlier scheme of the same size, and it gave no figures on how much financing has already been supported.
The 2023 scheme behind the figure
A CFAF 200 billion state-backed guarantee scheme was set up in 2023 through agreements with two industry bodies, Business in Cameroon reported:
- APECCAM, the Professional Association of Credit Institutions of Cameroon, which represents banks.
- ANEMCAM, the National Association of Microfinance Institutions of Cameroon.
Of the total, CFAF 170 billion covers bank lending and CFAF 30 billion covers microfinance loans, according to APECCAM. Under the scheme, the government guarantees part of each eligible loan, but banks and microfinance institutions still assess every application themselves. A guarantee lowers the lender's loss if a loan goes bad. It does not oblige anyone to lend.
What is still unknown
Several details that matter to a borrower were not published:
- The share of each loan the state guarantees.
- Which banks are actively using the scheme.
- How many entrepreneurs have received guaranteed loans since 2023.
- How a young or female entrepreneur applies, and whether the guarantee is requested by the borrower or the bank.
Without those numbers, it is hard to judge whether the existing facility is under-used, fully committed or simply little known.
Why access to finance is the main complaint
The data explain why the government keeps returning to the subject. In the World Bank's 2024 Enterprise Survey of Cameroon, 28.8% of the 615 firms surveyed named access to finance as their single biggest obstacle.
The International Monetary Fund made a similar point in an April 2026 assessment. It found that the share of firms citing finance as their main obstacle rose from about 15% in 2009 to about 29% in 2024. The IMF said limited financial-sector development holds back business investment, expansion and innovation, and called for reforms to deepen intermediation and improve private-sector access to credit.
In other words, the problem has roughly doubled over fifteen years, even as guarantee schemes and support programmes have multiplied.
Who else was at the table
Achille Bassilekin III, Minister of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicrafts, took part in the session. Henri Eyebe Ayissi, Minister of State Property, Surveys and Land Tenure, moderated. His ministry oversees land titles, which banks often accept as collateral, so the collateral problem sits partly in his portfolio.
Discussions also covered entrepreneurship training, business incubation, innovation, technical assistance and better public information about support programmes.
The forum's focus on simpler rules for small firms follows the government's recent push on the OHADA entreprenant regime, which we covered in our report on making the simplified business status work.
What it means for entrepreneurs
For a young or female business owner in Douala, Yaoundé or Bafoussam, the practical steps are the ones Motaze listed. A lender will still want a credible business plan, financial records and proof that the business can repay. The guarantee helps on collateral, not on the rest.
- Ask your bank or microfinance institution directly whether it participates in the state guarantee scheme.
- Prepare a written business plan with realistic cash-flow figures.
- Formalise the business where possible, since registered firms are easier to assess.
What to watch
- Whether MINFI publishes figures on loans guaranteed since 2023.
- Any new agreement with APECCAM or ANEMCAM that clarifies coverage rates.
- Allocations for SME support in the 2027 budget.
