1000 accounts already opened at the Bank for SMEs

The publication cost of banking services is a regulatory requirement of transparency, which occurs every three months.

Late last week, the Cameroonians Bank for SMEs (BC-SME SA) issued this document for the first time. It is already three months that this state institution opened its counters to customers, mainly SMEs promoters.

Nevertheless, "there are many individuals who come to request for the opening of an account. But you have to dismiss them because we cannot turn away from our missions which are to fund and support SMEs," said Felix Oundi, head of the agency based in Nlongkak, Yaoundé.

There were some activities at the place yesterday morning. In front of the wickets and offices, customers came and went, smiling. It looked more like they had stepped out of a travel agency.

Out of the five wickets planned, only two are functional. Because "the activity is still so intense, although the bank has already registered nearly a thousand customers," said the branch manager.

According to our source, "the interest of SMEs is real. But most do not have a trade register justifying the SME. The Directorate General has set up measures to ease account opening conditions. We accept all those who pay at least the withholding tax, notifying them that they would be entitled to credits if they present the trade register later."

Moreover, officials of the BC-SME SA, in collaboration with the Centre for Enterprise Creation Formalities (CFCE), undertook to facilitate access to the register in question.

"With just FCFA 35,000, SMEs are able to obtain the document in a month." The advantage of the BC-SME SA, compared with other commercial banks, lies precisely in this support, in addition to granting loans at preferential rates. To date, customers’ requests amount to at least FCFA 10 billion.

"We have a big project that involves the supply of domestic gas and one on the mixer. There are many others on the transport of fuel, cargo or passengers which we are working on," said Amadou Haman, Deputy DG. He also stresses the matter of studying the profile of the applicants in question before granting the requested appropriations.