REPUBLIC OF CAMEROON Peace - Work - Fatherland
Ministry of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicrafts
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REPUBLICQUE DU CAMEROUN Paix - Travail - Patrie
Ministère des Petites et Moyennes Entreprises, de l'Economie Sociale et de l'Artisanat
# Economic outlook
2nd half of 2020
MINPMEESA P.O. Box 6096 YAOUNDE Tel.: (237) 222 23 23 88 Fax: (237) 222 22 41 58 Email: cabinet@minpmeesa.cm Website: www.minpmeesa.gov.c
Economic outlook 2nd HALF OF 2020
# INTRODUCTION
The surveys carried out by MINPMEESA among some SMEs from 15 January to 15 February 2021, as well as the high-frequency statistical data available in administrations, made it possible to describe the economic situation of SMEs in the second half of 2020. It should be noted that the situation in the first half of the year was strongly influenced by the effects of the Coronavirus health crisis at the beginning of the first quarter of 2020. The effects of this health crisis continued in the second half of 2020.
The data collection carried out by the Division of Studies, Projects and Forecasts focused on the activities of SMEs, the evolution of their turnover, the job situation, the level of production and sales, the cash flow situation and investments made, and finally on the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. In this economic outlook, the analysed data come from 274 companies that responded to the questionnaire within the deadline, with a response rate of 55%.
This economic outlook for the second half of 2020 focuses on: (I) the analysis of the level of activity of SMEs, as well as the job situation; (II) their cash flow situation; and (III) the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Small and Medium-sized Enterprises.
# Chapter 1: Activity and Employment
This chapter focuses on the analysis of the volume of activity, the level of production and sales achieved by SMEs and the job situation in the second half of 2020.
1. Activity level
The activity of SMEs in the second half of 2020 decreased compared to the first half of the same year. 71.30% of the entrepreneurs declare a decrease in turnover and 13.10% a stable situation. This drop in activity does not comfort the forecasts made by business managers during the first half of the year, for which, 45.60% of them expected an increase in turnover during the second half of the year. This underperformance could be explained by the persistence of the health crisis.
Moreover, a situation of overall decline in activities was observed during the year 2020, although some branches experienced a growth in their activities due to opportunities brought by the health crisis, in particular the clothing sector (face masks), the chemical-pharmaceutical sector (hydro alcoholic gels, soaps and disinfectants), and the digital economy and telecommunication sector (teleworking, video-conferencing).
For 84.80% of business leaders, the decline in activity is mainly due to a lack of financing. 79.1% blame the Covid-19 pandemic; strong competition is cited by 58.9% of the interviewed business leaders.