This year, the second edition of the UK-Francophone West and Central Africa Trade and Investment Forum under the theme “From Ambition to Action” was GREAT.
BEKO CAPITAL ADVISORY was delighted to support and actively participate in the event convened by DMA Invest, the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and UK Export Finance (UKEF) on 18th October 2023 at IET London: Savoy Place, and also to co-organise the Country focus event for Cameroon, so-called “Cameroon Business Day” thereafter with the support of DMA Invest, the British High Commission in Yaoundé, the Cameroon High Commission in London and the Cameroon Investment promotion Agency.
This edition of the Forum – Following last year success- was an amazing opportunity to engage with senior representatives of Francophone African governments and major private sector actors involved in various fields including infrastructure & water, energy, financial services and so on, to explore meaningful partnership opportunities and exchange views on the offer, challenges, and solutions pertaining to the development and promotion of trade and investment between the UK and West & Central Francophone Africa.
With over 800 delegates from seven countries attending the Forum, key topics were discussed during the Ministers’ fireside chat, the fireside chat on UK offer and sector-related panel discussions on Infrastructure & Water, Energy, Agriculture, Access to finance & Cross Border Transactions, Education and Healthcare, Markets Standards & Standardisation, followed by the country sessions.
Our CEO, Mr Brice BEUMO shared his viewpoint as private sector speaker during the Cameroon Session chaired by HM High Commissioner Barry Lowen, along with other panellists, namely Sir Jeffrey Donaldson – Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Cameroon, Mrs Marthe Angeline Minja – General Manager of the Cameroon Investment Promotion Agency, Yasmine Siddiqi – Business Development Officer, UKEF. As a major take away at the end of this session: Cameroon is a land of tremendous opportunities. Yet there are some challenges and a major key to success for investors or project owners willing to set up in the Country is to seek relevant guidance or advice from trusted and experienced private or public sector partners in order to be well oriented and get things right throughout the process.
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CAMEROON BUSINESS DAY
For the second consecutive year, BEKO CAPITAL ADVISORY had the privilege to co-organise the Cameroon Business Day this 19th October 2023, a country specific roundtable convened in the sidelines of the UK-Francophone West and Central Africa Trade and Investment Forum held the day before in London. The event was supported by DMA Invest, the British High Commission in Yaoundé, the Cameroon High Commission in London and the Cameroon Investment Promotion Agency.
The Cameroon Business Day gathered eminent guests in the sovereign room of the majestic Royal Airforce Club, including senior government officials from the UK and Cameroon, corporations involved in Water & Infrastructure development, energy, professional services, Technology, as well as UK-based investors.
The event started with the opening remarks from Atam Sandhu – CEO of DMA Invest, Rt Hon Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP – Minister’s Trade Envoy to Cameroon and H.E Albert Njoteh Fotabong – Cameroon High Commissioner in London.
Then, the first panel discussion on government priority projects chaired by H.E Barry Lowen – British High Commissioner in Yaoundé, highlighted opportunities offered by the public sector in the field of infrastructure and other large-scale projects in Cameroon as outlined in the national development strategy 2030, the process and benefits of the PPP framework, as well as investment incentives set out by the law to promote foreign investments in Cameroon.
The second panel discussion chaired by Mr Brice BEUMO – CEO of Beko Capital Advisory, explored the investment landscape and opportunities in Cameroon from the private sector perspective.
The Cameroun Business Day was concluded with closing remarks given by H.E Barry Lowen – British High Commissioner in Yaoundé and the very important networking session.
The main takeaway following this roundtable:
Cameroon as an investment destination offers a wealth of opportunities in numerous business sectors.
Based on the lessons learned from the experience of a multinational corporation operating for several years in Cameroon, the investment landscape presents some challenges as in any other countries around the world, yet appropriate solutions are also provided to conveniently get the best out of the multitude of advantages and investment opportunities available in Cameroon.
For the sake of productivity and efficiency, investors are highly encouraged to tap into the resources and expertise of local financial institutions, professional services firms, and government agencies to define and implement a win strategy, get relevant advice and assistance to successfully invest in Cameroon.
Many thanks for all our supporters, partners, and participants for making this event a fruitful and productive gathering.
