2025 SBEC Annual Report: From Barriers To Breadthroughs: Women Entrepreneurs Powering Cameroon’s Green Economy Transition
Authors: Small Business and Entrepreneurship Center, Denis & Lenora Foretia Foundation Published: March 04, 2026 DOI: https://doi.org/10.64116/Report.2026.WomenGreenEcoCM Download Full report Executive Summary “We are the guardians of the Earth, not its owners,” Marlee Matlin reminds us. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, the transition to a green economy is seen as a process of transforming the system of production, distribution, and consumption of wealth towards a model of sustainable development improving energy and resource efficiency, reducing carbon emissions and pollution, protecting biodiversity and ecosystems to improve human well-being and social inclusion, limit environmental risks, and preserve natural heritage. According [...]
Resilience Through Collaboration: Lessons from Africa’s Think Tank Summit and NeTT4Peace
By Julienne Stéphanie Mesumbe, Deputy Director of Nkafu Policy Institute Across Africa, think tanks are navigating shrinking civic spaces, financial constraints, and political pressures that often limit their ability to influence policy. Yet, recent convenings have demonstrated that collaboration is the most effective pathway to resilience and collective impact. In October and November 2025, the Nkafu Policy Institute participated in two landmark gatherings: the 11th Africa Think Tank Summit in Addis Ababa and the Strategy Group Meeting of the African Union Network of Think Tanks for Peace (NeTT4Peace) in Rabat. Together, these events underscored a powerful truth: think tanks are stronger [...]
2024 SBEC Annual Report
Written by: Laurent Brice Nsengue, Meh Desmond Kum, Daisy Chefor Ngwenyi Meugue and Dr. Vera Kum Published: October 29, 2025 DOI: https://doi.org/10.64116/Report.2024.SME Reference: Nkafu Policy Institute, SBEC Annual Report, 2024, 46 pages Download Full Report EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report examines the critical role of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in driving sustainable economic growth in Cameroon. It provides actionable strategies to enhance their resilience, dynamism, performance, and competitiveness. SMEs represent over 90% of businesses in Cameroon and contribute significantly to employment generation and GDP, yet they face substantial challenges limiting their growth potential. Key findings indicate that Cameroonian SMEs struggle [...]
Call to Tender for Service providers based in or around Washington DC
Launch Date: August 27, 2025 Location: In or around Washington DC Deadline for Submission: Tuesday, October 7, 2025 (5:00 PM Washington DC time) Apply now The Denis & Lenora Foretia Foundation is a non-profit organization based in Yaoundé, Cameroon, dedicated to catalyzing Africa’s economic transformation by focusing on social entrepreneurship, science and technology, innovation, public health, and the implementation of progressive policies that create economic opportunities for all. As part of the upcoming Africa @ World Bank Annual Meetings Event taking place in Washington DC on October 14, 2025, the Foundation seeks to engage qualified service providers based in or around [...]
Nkafu Policy Institute hosts Think Tank Week to strengthen Central Africa’s Policy Ecosystem
Newspaper 2025 Central Africa ThinkTank Forum
Infrastructure Development: A key factor in Boosting the Performance and competitiveness of a Cameroon’s Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
Download full Report EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report examines how infrastructure development serves as a critical catalyst for boosting the performance and competitiveness of Cameroon’s Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). Despite their significant contribution to employment and economic growth, Cameroonian SMEs face substantial challenges due to inadequate infrastructure, including unreliable power supply, poor transportation networks, limited Information Communication Technology access, and insufficient social infrastructure. These deficiencies result in high operational costs, reduced productivity, limited market reach, and constrained innovation capacity. Our analysis reveals that strategic infrastructure development can transform SMEs performance by reducing production costs, improving market access, enhancing productivity, [...]
Enhancing Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in Rural Cameroon through Decentralization
By Laurent Brice Nsengue, Larissa Ntoubia Introduction According to World Bank figures, about 78% of the world’s poorest people live in rural areas and rely largely on agriculture. In terms of creating jobs, generating revenue, and retaining residents, the growth of entrepreneurship in rural regions offers a promising niche in the battle against poverty. Particular focus should be paid to rural entrepreneurship. Multi-level governance has given rise to a vast body of economic theory and empirical studies, where the benefits of decentralization were highlighted by the “first generation” economic theories of fiscal federalism, which emerged in the 1950s and 1960s. Additionally, the [...]
Call to tender
Launch Date: June 23, 2025 Location: Yaoundé Deadline for Submission: Jully 18, 2025 Apply now The Denis & Lenora Foretia Foundation is a non-profit organization based in Yaoundé, Cameroon, dedicated to catalyzing Africa’s economic transformation by focusing on social entrepreneurship, science and technology, innovation, public health, and the implementation of progressive policies that create economic opportunities for all. This Call for Suppliers seeks to identify and register qualified, experienced, and reliable vendors and service providers across various categories who will be eligible to participate in future procurement opportunities. Qualified suppliers will be considered for contracts, purchase orders, and service [...]
2023 SBEC Annual Report
Download report Executive Summary Cameroon is recognized as the economic behemoth of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC). The country underlines a diverse economy with considerable growth potential. However, it, at the same time, also confronts challenges such as high poverty rates, limited access to financing, and inadequate socio-economic and physical infrastructure, all of which stand in the way of the development of nation’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. The report explores the entrepreneurial landscape and economic development in Cameroon, with a particular focus on the contribution of women and youth to entrepreneurship. The objective of this study is to [...]
Women’s Land Rights and Economic Empowerment in Cameroon
Economic empowerment of women in Cameroon remains an urgent challenge, despite women’s crucial role in the nation’s economy, particularly within the agricultural sector. While women make up over 70% of the agricultural workforce, their participation in the broader economy is often marginalized(Lucky 2024). Women are typically excluded from key economic decisions, and their access to resources such as education, healthcare, and finance is limited. These limitations severely hinder their ability to reach their full potential as economic actors. Expected economic empowerment levels for women suggest that with appropriate resources and support, women could contribute more effectively to the national [...]
Denis & Lenora Foretia Foundation | Catalyzing Africa's Economic Transformation 
