SME Development Challenges in Cameroon: An Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Perspective

In most of the world's economies, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are regarded as vectors for job and wealth creation. This dynamic presence helps generate growth and redistribute wealth in developed and developing countries alike. Their important role in reducing poverty in the African countries is also gaining recognition. However, the venture creation and development process requires an enabling environment which should provide sufficient quantities and qualities of physical, financial, human, information and relationship resources. The business environment in Africa and the lack of resources in the African ecosystem are considered to be among the continent's main causes of business failure and poor competitive capacity. More than 100 SME owner-managers in Cameroon responded to a survey concerning their ability to compete in a global business environment. Their responses appear to show that SMEs face some significant challenges if they wish to grow or simply survive. An environment that offers plenty of resources but is deficient in terms of organization, resource access and stakeholder behaviour constitutes an additional challenge for these owner-managers - one that they cannot address without help. The public authorities therefore face an important task, which is to improve the competitive capacity of the country's SMEs by upgrading the current business ecosystem and infrastructures, and bringing them into line with global standards.