(Business in Cameroon) - The portfolio of the Cameroon SME Bank (BC-PME) now includes nearly 4,000 companies, Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises Achille Bassilekin III told Défis actuels. Since its creation more than 10 years ago, the bank has granted about CFA75 billion in loans, he said. SMEs represent over 80% of Cameroon’s industrial fabric but remain underfunded compared with large enterprises. BEAC reported that large enterprises took 67.8% of total loans in Q3 2024, or CFA1,139.6 billion, up from CFA943.2 billion a year earlier. In comparison, SMEs received 21.31%, equivalent to CFA358.2 billion, versus CFA273 billion in the same period of 2023.