Cameroon’s drive to emerge by 2035 can only see the light of day if the country invest heavily in its transformation and industrialization sector, experts have said.

This is one of the recommendations by a panel of experts at the weekend during a roundtable organised by the Small Business Entrepreneurship Centre (SBEC) to help entrepreneurs and small business owners transform their ideas into sustainable ventures.

The experts all recognise the potentials of entrepreneurs and small businesses in Cameroon but hoped such ventures could move a step further if a real industrialisation policy is put in place.

“You can not emerge if you don’t produce as well as export and stay competitive in the global market but this can only be possible if we reorientate and focus on the transformation sector because we have abundant raw materials,” Ulrich Kamdem, Economic Policy Analyst at the Denis and Lenora Foundation said.

A view shared by Sandra Achare Batey, consultant in project management who stressed  on industrialisation, transformation and technology as the levers for Cameroon’s emergence.

But before this stage, she touched on key aspects that could help entrepreners grow their business amongst them; getting the right information, settling on the right choice of business and the ability to access finance to fund the business.

Small and medium size enterprises contribute about 36 percent of Cameroon’s Gross Domestic Product and employ above 60 percent of the population but the reality indicates the enormous potentials in this sector are not fully harnessed given that over 70 percent of SME still operate informally.

However, Cyrille Schouame, business expert at the Ministry of Small and Medium size enterprises said the government is not solely responsible for this situation as he challenged entrepreneurs and businesses present to get to the right quarters for adequate information. The government has set aside a wide range of policies to help grow small businesses in Cameroon, he added.