The eighth edition of Salon Promote will kick off on February 21st in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
The 7-days event, dedicated to businesses, SMEs, and entrepreneurship, will also be attended by a delegation of 30 Italian companies coordinated by the Italian Embassy and the Italian Trade Agency (ITA).
Several companies active in construction and architecture, agri-food, health, and medical industry, mechanics, renewable energy, oil & gas will join Casa Italia, the Italian Pavilion at Salon Promote. They will be joined by a group of associations of the Cameroonian diaspora in Italy.
On February 22nd, Italy’s day, Salon Promote will hold several activities dedicated to Italy, including a Business Forum. The Forum will be inaugurated by Italian Ambassador Filippo Scammacca del Murgo and by the Minister of Economy, Planning, and Territorial Management, Alamine Ousmane Mey.
Marthe Angéline Minja, director of the Agency for the Promotion of Investment, Celestin Tawamba, president of the Confederation of Entrepreneurs (GICAM), and Augustin Tamba, mayor of Yaoundé, will also attend the Forum.
“Italian companies and products receive praise all over the world, and also here in Cameroon,” said Ambassador Scammacca del Murgo in a message presenting the Italian delegation to Salon Promote. The ambassador cited some examples of work carried out by Italian companies in the African country, such as the furnishing of the Hotel Krystal in Douala, the first five-star hotel in the city, the renovation of the Hotel Franco, and the construction of the Olembé stadium. These examples, the ambassador stressed, demonstrate the great interest and demand for Italian products and expertise.
Italy, said Scammacca, “is an ideal partner for Cameroon.” The transfer of know-how and a “doing-together” approach are elements that characterize Italian entrepreneurship throughout the world. Moreover: the Italian economy, characterized by a strong presence of SMEs, “is of great interest for an emerging country like Cameroon, allowing an adequate transfer of knowledge and technologies.”
Italy and Cameroon share a strong bond. Over the years, Italy has hosted many Cameroonian students. A number of them later returned to Cameroon, opening new businesses. Their inventive and entrepreneurial spirit has significantly contributed to the country’s social and economic development.
Elisabetta Merlino, director of the Italian Trade Agency office in Luanda, Angola, which also covers Cameroon, underlined the importance of Salon Promote for companies of both countries, and for the whole area of the Economic Community of Central Africa (CEMAC). “The considerable presence of Italian companies, despite the pandemic, demonstrates that there is great interest in Italy for the Cameroonian market,” said Dr. Merlino.
The Italian Trade Agency office in Luanda decided to organize an Italian collective delegation to Salon Promote to strengthen Italian exports to Cameroon. “We intend to stimulate the growth of trade relations between our two countries, favouring the strengthening of partnerships and the achievement of agreements between Italian, Cameroonian, and African companies in general,” concluded Dr. Merlino.
