By Boris Esono Nwenfor
YAOUNDE, Cameroon – The 2025 SBEC SME Forum wrapped up in Yaoundé with renewed optimism and clear direction for the future of small and medium-sized enterprises in Cameroon. Dr Denis Foretia, Co-Chair of the Denis & Lenora Foretia Foundation, described the two-day forum which ran from April 29-30, as a major success, saying it not only met but exceeded expectations.
“We had more than 400 leaders of small and medium-sized enterprises who registered and actively participated,” said Dr Foretia. “They engaged on a wide range of topics – from the policy environment affecting SMEs to strategies for business growth and how they can contribute meaningfully to national economic development. The objectives have been exceeded.”
The 6th edition of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Centre (SBEC) SME Forum provided a platform for youth and women-led enterprises to speak directly about the obstacles they face, including access to finance, limited market reach, and bureaucratic hurdles. According to Dr. Foretia, this participatory approach gave policymakers and financial institutions a deeper understanding of the real-world barriers confronting SMEs.
“We didn’t just discuss the challenges; we also heard from banks, financial institutions, and regulators about what procedures are in place to support SMEs,” he said. “It was a rare chance for both sides to align on what must change.”
In an interview with Pan African Visions after the close of the two-day SBEC SME Forum, Dr Denis Foretia, who also doubles as the Executive Chairman of the Nkafu Policy Institute, opened up on the 2025 Forum, how it addressed the current challenges facing youth and women-led SMEs and the 2026 edition that is set to come up in July.
Would you say after two days, the objectives were achieved?
Dr Foretia: The objectives were exceeded. We had more than 400 leaders of small and medium-sized enterprises who registered and participated in this two-day SBEC forum on a wide range of issues addressing the policy environment in the country, looking at areas in which they can strengthen themselves to be stronger SMEs, to grow their SMEs and also ensure that they contribute to national economic growth. So from today, the objectives have been exceeded.
How did the forum address the current challenges facing youth and women-led SMEs?
Dr Denis Foretia: The important thing that we addressed is that we gave opportunities for women and youth-led SMEs to be able to explain the various issues that they are facing. But we also had the opportunity to have the feedback and experiences of banks, financial institutions, and other policy actors on processes and procedures that are in place to be able to ensure that youth and women-led SMEs are supported throughout their lifespan.
So, it was a very good opportunity for SME leaders to gain not just technical knowledge but also an understanding of the policy landscape and also for policymakers to understand the real challenges and some of the recommendations that are needed in order to really grow the sector.
What feedback have you gotten from the SBEC Forum from the youth and women-led SMEs?
Dr Denis Foretia: The feedback is very positive. In acknowledgement of the challenges that are there in the first place. It’s very important to first of all acknowledge the scale of the problem and the problem and the scale of the problem before you can make tangible changes or improvements. So it’s a work in progress, but it ensures that it’s done in line with the SMEs themselves and also the different government entities and private sector involvement as well. So this is an area where we continue to work.
In your opinion, how can policymakers build on this forum?
Dr Denis Foretia: It’s a very important forum because right now it’s one of the most regular forums for SMEs in the country. This is the sixth edition of this SBEC forum and it gives the opportunity every year for this diverse group of actors to come around looking at how to strengthen SMEs.
So we can definitely build on this because this forum built on last year’s forum, which has only continued to grow. The numbers this year have increased by more than 50%.
Looking ahead, what is next for the SBEC forum?
Dr Denis Foretia: Well, we are looking to have the 2026 SBEC forum in July of next year. Their forum will be unique in the sense that a lot of the activities around the forum will be planned by the various stakeholders, the SMEs themselves, members of the SBEC network, as well as different financial institutions, policymakers, different ministries, and all of that together. So it will be led by them. So we are looking to continue this growth. We need to keep the momentum up.
What is your message to the SMEs and young leaders who are part of this enriching session?
Dr Denis Foretia: The message is that it is important to be part of a network like the SBEC network. The SBEC network brings together SMEs. Membership is affordable and it brings together SMEs and ensures that challenges that SMEs have, whether it’s in managing or it’s in recruiting, it’s in accounting, it’s in marketing, the various areas that they have challenges; the SBEC network is there to help them meet their challenges.
We all heard from SBEC network members who have talked about what SBEC has done to them and how they’ve benefited from the network. So my recommendation to SMEs is that they should be part of networks where they get to share knowledge, share challenges, look for ways to make advancements together, and a network like the SBEC network is a good place for them to be.
