V. Marketing U.S. Products and Services Cameroon has a population of about 12.5 million inhabitants, according to the 1987 census. About 35 percent lives in urban areas. The population is increasing at the rate of 2.7 percent a year. The two major cities, Yaounde and Douala, are growing at a rate of about 8 percent a year. The city of Douala is Cameroon's main port as well as its main industrial and commercial center. Its population is estimated at over one million inhabitants. About three quarters of the country's industrial production takes place in Douala. The city of Yaounde is smaller, with a population of about 700,000. It is the political and diplomatic centre of the country. Yaounde and Douala presently contain about 30 percent of Cameroon's urban residents and 15 percent of Cameroon's population. Rapid urbanization is also occurring in smaller cities throughout the country, such as in Garoua (200,000), Maroua (150,000) and Bafoussam (200,000). Other towns with over 50,000 inhabitants include Bamenda, Kumba, Ngaoundere and Nkongsamba. The few large trading firms existing in Cameroon are dominated by Europeans, Indians and Lebanese. Resident in this part of the world for many years, they have developed very efficient distribution systems and have extensive knowledge of the market. Some of these import houses, especially those dealing in consumer products, have set up stores and supermarkets that retail groceries, liquors, household hardware, clothing etc. Others have retained the older practice of a clerk taking orders for a wide range of merchandise. In the smaller towns of the country, retailing in stores and shops is controlled mainly by Nigerian and Cameroonian traders. About 35 percent of retail jobs is, however, secured by vendors who sell their wares from rented stalls at the main markets of the cities. Due to Cameroon's economic crisis, rising unemployment and the immediate effects of the January 1994 devaluation of the CFA, hawkers are rapidly increasing their share of retailing activities. These operators of the informal sector are constantly in a struggle with city authorities who want them to clear the side-walks. Hawkers sell generally on a commission basis for established store owners, although some are independent. Using the services of a local agent is a recommended first step in establishing presence in the Cameroonian market, especially for commodities or products whose determining factor is price. It is extremely important to research the market ahead of time and to ensure that Cameroonian agents and/or partners are reputable. Since agents do not take title to shipments or inventory, the time lag between the customer's order and physical delivery is usually long. However, the advantage of using agents lies in the fact that they sell to wholesalers rather than to final consumers, and they can often help U. S. firms obtain market knowledge at relatively low cost. The appointment of a distributor is recommended for products whose determining factor is quality and service (e.g. machinery, motor vehicles and other products requiring after-sales service and spareparts). In Cameroon, the agent/distributor contract must be notarized and published in the local press. Agents and distributors must be registered with the government. The Agent/Distributor Service (ADS), available for a fee through the District Offices of the International Trade Administration, locates potential agents and/or distributors for specified U. S. products. However, it is adviseable to verify the bona fides of a potential Cameroonian partner by way of a request for a World Traders Data Report (WTDR). WTDR's are available also for a fee through the District Offices of the ITA. American firms are involved in direct marketing in Cameroon. Such presence has enabled them to take advantage of investment code incentives and to gain a deep knowledge of the regional (UDEAC) market. Franchising is relatively unknown in Cameroon. So far, only transnational distributors of petroleum products sell franchises. American firms may wish to explore this untapped potential. Great caution is required for joint ventures and licensing arrangements in Cameroon. The investment climate presents enduring high risk factors despite on-going reform efforts. Establishing an office in Cameroon for productive investments, sales or service was facilitated in 1991 when the Investment Code Management Unit (ICMU) was established in the industrial and commercial city of Douala to fulfill administrative requirements on behalf of foreign and domestic investors. This "one-stop-shop" provides investment authorization, administrative documents, personnel visas, special legal waivers, public service access, and a variety of other services previously scattered throughout the Cameroonian bureaucracy. The ICMU has a network of official correspondents in all relevant Ministries (contact Mrs. Minja, ICMU, P. O. Box 15438, Douala. Tel: 237-42-59-46 Fax: 237-43-30-07). No retail credit techniques, such as lay-away plans, are yet in use in Cameroon. Commercial banks offer consumption loans for large individual purchases which otherwise would imply short to medium-term savings. Advertizing is available in Cameroon in almost any medium: newspapers, magazines, billboards and signs, slides and short films in movie houses, over the state-owned radio and television network and via local exhibitions and displays. Sponsoring a sports team or staging a sporting event, especially a soccer game, is particularly well-received. However, the advice of local specialists should be sought before embarking on an advertizing campaign. Newspaper and magazine advertizing is currently more competitive with the emergence of a private press alongside the government-owned daily, Cameroon Tribune, which monopolised Cameroon's print media for decades. However, the circulation of newspapers and magazines is quite limited. The following publications may be contacted: LE MESSAGER (french-language weelky: P. O. Box 5925, Douala, Cameroon. Tel: 237-42-02-39 or 42-04-39 Fax: 237-43-04-57); LA NOUVELLE EXPRESSION (French-language weekly: P.O. Box 5646, Douala, Cameroon. Tel/Fax: 237-43-22-27); CAMEROON POST (English-language weekly: P. O. Box 1981, Yaounde, Cameroon. Tel: 237-23-45-14 Fax: 237-23-36-32 Chicago office: Mr. Tande Debussi - P. O. Box 268258, Chicago, Illinois - Tel/fax: 312-878-3584); THE HERALD (English-language biweekly: P. O. Box 3659, Messa-Yaounde. Tel: 237-31-55-22 Fax: 237-31-81-61); CAMEROON TRIBUNE (government bilingual daily: Tel: 237-30-18-30 or 30-16-89 or 30-06-40 Fax: 237-30-43-62). Billboards and signs are no longer a monopoly of "Cameroun Publi-Expansion" (CPE), a government-owned publicity parastatal. Other advertizing firms may be contacted for publicity assistance. Although the movie-going public has fallen signficantly since the coming of television in 1985, slides and short films in movie houses can be effective especially in Yaounde, Douala and Bafoussam, where agressive television advertizing by the movie houses has managed to increase the number of big screen customers beyond expectations. Radio and television advertizing is available through government-owned CRTV which broadcasts in French and English. However, a regional dimension to radio advertizing may be obtained through "Africa Number One", broadcasting out of Libreville, Gabon, from 5:00 am to 11:00 pm. This radio station, with a strong French connection, is received in Cameroon, west through Congo to Zaire, and South to Northern Angola. The only regularly-scheduled trade fair in Cameroon is the yearly "Promo", a general trade fair organized in December by the Chamber of Commerce. Individual companies, however, are known to organize expositions in Douala and Yaounde. Government procurement is organized under the "Direction G n rale des Grands Travaux" (DGTC), or the Public Works Directorate, placed under the direct supervision of the Presidency of the Republic. DGTC's calls for tender, especially when they are financed by the International Financial Institutions, are mailed to the American Embassy in Yaounde which reports them to the U. S. Department of Commerce for dissemination to the American business community. Restricted calls for tender are also addressed to the U.S. candidate by the Embassy. The Government of the Republic of Cameroon has lost credibility with domestic and foreign (direct) suppliers as a result of its continuing inability to settle its debts. Government's direct purchases are currently being negotiated through domestic middlemen who require cash up front on behalf of their foreign correspondents. Cameroon's slow-moving, complex and opaque legal system and its harzardous business environment suggest that in-coming American investors should seek the services of a local attorney, and should consult with other American firms doing business in Cameroon, before entering the market.