Aurore Bonny
28 November 2019•Update: 28 November 2019
DOUALA, Cameroon
Turkish entrepreneurs presented a positive portrait of Cameroon's business ecosystem Wednesday at the third Cameroon Investment Forum dedicated to investments in Cameroon.
"Cameroon is a very open country like Turkey. It is a commercial, hospitable and positive hub," Denise Dincsoy told Anadolu Agency. She heads a Turkish company specializing in design engineering, research and development for industrial refrigeration.
Gultekin Asci, vice president of an international trading company and member of the Manisa Chamber of Commerce and Industry told Anadolu he was also interested in doing business.
He finds three difficulties need to be eradicated to boost the business environment. In particular, corruption, the anglophone crisis and the very limited involvement of Cameroonian government.
Asci, however, remains optimistic that the visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the inauguration of Cameroon's stadiums in the future, will encourage the creation of new partnerships between Turkey and Cameroon.
An enthusiastic bound that Dincsoy joins. For her, obstacles do not change the opportunities offered.
"Regardless of the sociological crisis, our sector of activity is a need for all countries. Especially when it comes to food storage. If we want to reduce import prices, we must ensure the cold chain for food," she said.
Cameroon remains the most open, hospitable and developed country in Africa for investment., she said.
Invited by the Cameroonian authorities, she said she came from Antalya with an expert in Aquaculture to share her company's experience and transfer know-how in terms of food preservation, including teaching conservation methods and informing public and private investors about the appropriate sizing of aquatic sector projects.
According to Dincsoy, however, Cameroonian aquaculture lacks adequate infrastructures. About that, she recommends investing in infrastructure projects such as fish processing and storage plants at the port of Douala.
For her, this opportunity will attract Turkish fishermen who are used to going elsewhere to carry out their activities.
The 2019 Form focused on improving the production and marketing maize, rice and fish. Among the many objectives aimed at promoting these raw materials, it was also a question of encouraging partnership contracts between local and foreign investors.
