Central African Republic: building more competitive and investment-ready SMEs for the AfCFTA

Bangui, 21 June 2026 - Improving access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is essential. Strengthening their competitiveness is critical. Integrating them into regional value chains is indispensable. In Bangui, three days of discussions among entrepreneurs, public authorities, financial institutions and development partners helped advance these three priorities simultaneously.

The activities organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in partnership with the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of SMEs and the Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in the Central African Republic, enhanced SMEs' ability to access finance, consolidated a national consensus around the reforms required to strengthen their competitiveness, and laid the foundations for a National SME-Regional Value Chains Programme aimed at better connecting Central African enterprises to the opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and regional markets in Central Africa.

Following the training on access to finance, participating SMEs are now better equipped to understand the requirements of financial institutions, develop bankable projects, prepare credible financing proposals and present their business initiatives more effectively to potential investors. The training also helped strengthen dialogue among entrepreneurs, financial institutions and public authorities, an essential step towards reducing the information gaps and misunderstandings that continue to constrain access to finance.

Designed to address the main shortcomings identified in SME financing processes, the training adopted a practical approach focused on the preparation of credible and bankable projects. As highlighted by Ghitu I. Mundunge, Head of the Economic Diversification Reforms and Policies Unit at ECA's Subregional Office for Central Africa: "Participants worked on highly practical aspects, including understanding the expectations of financial institutions, preparing bankable business plans, conducting financial analysis for SMEs, developing financing proposals and simulating presentations to potential financiers."

The national consultation held on 21 May marked an important step forward in the development of the future National SME-Regional Value Chains Programme. Participants agreed on four strategic priorities: improving the business environment, strengthening productive capacities, expanding access to finance and promoting regional trade integration. They also emphasized the need to accelerate the operationalization of SME support mechanisms, strengthen coordination among public and private stakeholders, and continue developing a pipeline of projects capable of attracting investment and supporting the country's productive transformation.

This approach is fully shared by the Central African authorities. As acknowledged by the Representative of the Minister of Trade and Industry: "The Government is fully aware that without a dynamic, competitive and better-financed private sector, it will be difficult to achieve the economic diversification and structural transformation objectives set out in the National Development Plan 2024-2028."

The discussions in Bangui also highlighted a fundamental reality: integrating SMEs into regional value chains is not simply a matter of opening markets. It requires enterprises capable of producing competitively, meeting quality standards, investing, innovating and responding sustainably to market demand. In other words, competitiveness is built long before products reach export markets. As emphasized by the Representative of the Minister of Trade and Industry: "The AfCFTA opens up new opportunities for our country. However, to fully benefit from this continental market, our enterprises must be better prepared, better structured and more competitive."

This is precisely the rationale underpinning ECA's approach. By combining entrepreneurial capacity development, improved access to finance, institutional reforms and regional integration, it addresses the key constraints that continue to limit SME participation in the opportunities offered by the AfCFTA. It also helps position national efforts within a broader regional agenda for economic transformation and productive diversification.

"As a source of income and opportunities, SMEs play a critical role in the economy of the Central African Republic, particularly for women and young people. Their development is therefore directly linked to the objectives of the National Development Plan 2024-2028. This initiative also reflects the importance of an integrated approach that brings together public authorities, the private sector, financial institutions and development partners around a shared vision," emphasized the Representative of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in the Central African Republic.

The activities organized in Bangui form part of the partnership established between ECA and the Central African Republic since 2025. This process has already supported the identification of priority value chains, strengthened policymakers' capacities on sustainable trade, facilitated a high-level policy dialogue on SMEs, trade and the AfCFTA, and enhanced entrepreneurs' ability to access finance through improved structuring of bankable projects.

Media Contacts
Zacharie Roger MBARGA
Communication Officer
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
Subregional Office for Central Africa
637 Rue 3.069, Quartier du Lac
Yaoundé, Cameroon
Tel: (+237) 222 50 43 48
Email: [email protected]

Issued by:
Communications Section
Economic Commission for Africa
PO Box 3001
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 551 5826
E-mail: [email protected]