Jean Marie Aboganena (second left) and some Cameroonian businessmen visit a bus factory in Shanghai in 2019

The Cameroon Economic and Trade Day in China, a forum that frequently brings together Cameroonian and Chinese businesspeople, was founded by Jean Marie Aboganena. He also serves as the CEO of African Business Development and Representation, a Yaoundé-based organisation for African business development and representation. 

Before going into business, Aboganena was a successful journalist and worked for renowned newspapers in several countries. He concentrated on China because he knew China was the country where he could utilise his network to connect Cameroonian businesspeople with their Chinese counterparts. ChinAfrica correspondent François Essomba recently sat down with Aboganena to better understand his role in advancing the economic exchanges between the two countries and hear his views about the opportunities and challenges faced by enterprises in both China and Cameroon.  

What new business prospects are available to Chinese and Cameroonian enterprises now that COVID-19-related restrictions have been lifted? 

Jean Marie Aboganena: Cameroonian businesspeople were waiting for the easing of restrictions so they could re-establish contact with their partners and look into new possibilities. The COVID-19 pandemic in the past three years disrupted the exchanges between China and Cameroon. Some importers from Cameroon were no longer able to import their items, and shipping some products to China became challenging. Everything slowed down - even the systems in place to ensure the delivery of packages to Cameroon and sea transportation were under strain. 

Businesspeople in Cameroon are keen to resume their activities, particularly travel to China, following the announcement of the easing of restrictions and the resumption of travel. 

Can you comment on how the cooperation has evolved after the changes in pandemic control policies? 

Our goal is to attract Chinese businesses to establish modern industries as part of the Network of Innovative Companies for the Full Industrialisation of Cameroon. This will allow us to produce the consumer items we presently lack locally. 

It is important to keep in mind that the government of Cameroon has started a programme dubbed “import substitution” with the goal of reducing imports and promoting local manufacturing. We are working with the government to make this project a reality and support it wholeheartedly. 

What are your plans to promote the business ties in the short term? 

In order to create projects in a variety of industries, including construction, water and processing, we collaborate with a number of Chinese businesses. We also have the ambition to create a technology university in collaboration with a Chinese organisation. We intend to arrange business tours to China as well as hold shows to display machinery and equipment manufactured in Cameroon and China. These programmes are intended to support small and medium-sized Cameroonian businesses who want to produce and process local goods while utilising Chinese know-how and technology. We are certain that these measures will improve the two countries’ cooperation. 

As the architect of a platform that routinely brings together Cameroonian and Chinese businesspeople, could you provide more details about these interactions? 

We realised that Cameroon was not sufficiently open to the outside world while having aspirations of becoming a developing nation. We made the decision to study China in order to learn how it had changed its industry. In order to encourage small and medium-sized Cameroonian companies and sectors to cooperate with the Chinese giants and promote industrialisation in Cameroon, we therefore established the Cameroon Economic and Trade Day in China. 

We took a delegation to Shanghai in 2018 that included representatives from 20 businesses as well as several state-owned companies, including the ports of Douala and Kribi, the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife, and the Chamber of Agriculture, Fisheries, Livestock and Forests. In order to form partnerships with Chinese businesses, we repeated the process in 2019 with 30 organisations and visited Shanghai Municipality, and Hunan and Shandong provinces in China. 

Regrettably, after our visit to China, COVID-19 began to emerge. We haven’t travelled since, but we have welcomed Chinese business associates to Cameroon with whom we continue to collaborate. We intend to resume planning business trips to China.  

What are the benefits that can result from commercial interactions between Chinese and Cameroonian individuals? 

Firstly, the physical meeting brings the parties together and fosters understanding and trust between the partners, which is crucial in the context of business-to-business interactions. Secondly, factory visits provide participants the chance to learn how imported goods are made, and to show interest in the technical know-how of the Chinese partners.  

For their part, the Chinese are welcomed to visit Cameroon, learn how to build things there as part of a joint venture, and take advantage of the market, which has a large potential because Africa is still developing.  

So, the planning of these visits has a significant influence on enhancing bilateral collaboration and opening doors for Chinese and Cameroonian businesspeople. 

What do you think the future holds for the cooperation between China and all of Africa, including Cameroon? 

I believe that the relationship between China and the African countries is growing stronger every day. Several African countries would have encountered significant challenges without China’s support. China has helped African countries to grow despite the fact that the economic crisis has had an impact on the entire world. 

For instance, China has helped to build three highways that connect Douala to Yaoundé, Kribi to Lolabé, and Nsimalen to Yaoundé, as well as four sizable hydroelectric dams in Cameroon. China has also established the “500,000 computers” initiative, where I had the honour of serving as Sichuan Telecom’s local partner in providing 500,000 computers to Cameroon. I think China has significantly contributed to the development of Cameroon and several other African nations.

Reporting from Cameroon