Cameroon Economy Profile - Doing Business 2019
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Doing Business 2019 Cameroon
Economy Profile
Cameroon
Page 1
Doing Business 2019 Cameroon
Economy Profile of Cameroon
Doing Business 2019 Indicators
(in order of appearance in the document)
Starting a business Procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital to start a limited liability company
Dealing with construction permits Procedures, time and cost to complete all formalities to build a warehouse and the quality
control and safety mechanisms in the construction permitting system
Getting electricity Procedures, time and cost to get connected to the electrical grid, and the reliability of the
electricity supply and the transparency of tariffs
Registering property Procedures, time and cost to transfer a property and the quality of the land administration
system
Getting credit Movable collateral laws and credit information systems
Protecting minority investors Minority shareholders’ rights in related-party transactions and in corporate governance
Paying taxes Payments, time, total tax and contribution rate for a firm to comply with all tax regulations as
well as post-filing processes
Trading across borders Time and cost to export the product of comparative advantage and import auto parts
Enforcing contracts Time and cost to resolve a commercial dispute and the quality of judicial processes
Resolving insolvency Time, cost, outcome and recovery rate for a commercial insolvency and the strength of the
legal framework for insolvency
Labor market regulation Flexibility in employment regulation and aspects of job quality
Page 2Doing Business 2019 Cameroon
About Doing Business
The Doing Business project provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 190 economies and selected
cities at the subnational and regional level.
The Doing Business project, launched in 2002, looks at domestic small and medium-size companies and measures the regulations applying
to them through their life cycle.
Doing Business captures several important dimensions of the regulatory environment as it applies to local firms. It provides quantitative
indicators on regulation for starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit,
protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also
measures features of labor market regulation. Although Doing Business does not present rankings of economies on the labor market
regulation indicators or include the topic in the aggregate ease of doing business score or ranking on the ease of doing business, it does
present the data for these indicators.
By gathering and analyzing comprehensive quantitative data to compare business regulation environments across economies and over time,
Doing Business encourages economies to compete towards more efficient regulation; offers measurable benchmarks for reform; and serves
as a resource for academics, journalists, private sector researchers and others interested in the business climate of each economy.
In addition, Doing Business offers detailed subnational reports, which exhaustively cover business regulation and reform in different cities and
regions within a nation. These reports provide data on the ease of doing business, rank each location, and recommend reforms to improve
performance in each of the indicator areas. Selected cities can compare their business regulations with other cities in the economy or region
and with the 190 economies that Doing Business has ranked.
The first Doing Business report, published in 2003, covered 5 indicator sets and 133 economies. This year’s report covers 11 indicator sets
and 190 economies. Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of each economy, except for 11 economies that
have a population of more than 100 million as of 2013 (Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the
Russian Federation and the United States) where Doing Business also collected data for the second largest business city. The data for these
11 economies are a population-weighted average for the 2 largest business cities. The project has benefited from feedback from
governments, academics, practitioners and reviewers. The initial goal remains: to provide an objective basis for understanding and improving
the regulatory environment for business around the world.
More about Doing Business (PDF, 5MB)
Page 3Doing Business 2019 Cameroon
Ease of Doing Business in
Region Sub-Saharan Africa DB 2019 Rank
190 1
Cameroon
Income Category Lower middle income 166
DB 2019 Ease of doing business score
Population 24,053,727
0 100
City Covered Douala 47.78
DB 2019 Ease of Doing Business Score
0 100
59.22: Ghana (Rank: 114)
51.61: Regional Average (Sub-Saharan Africa)
47.78: Cameroon (Rank: 166)
45.58: Gabon (Rank: 169)
41.94: Equatorial Guinea (Rank: 177)
39.83: Congo, Rep. (Rank: 180)
Note: The ease of doing business score captures the gap of each economy from the best regulatory performance observed on each of the indicators across all economies
in the Doing Business sample since 2005. An economy’s ease of doing business score is reflected on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowest and 100
represents the best performance. The ease of doing business ranking ranges from 1 to 190.
Rankings on Doing Business topics - Cameroon
1
28
55
73
82 92
Rank
109
129 127
132
140
136
166
163 176
182 186
190
Starting Dealing Getting Registering Getting Protecting Paying Trading Enforcing Resolving
a with Electricity Property Credit Minority Taxes across Contracts Insolvency
Business Construction Investors Borders
Permits
Ease of Doing Business Score on Doing Business topics - Cameroon
100
86.26
80
62.04 61.04 60.00
Score
60
41.67 39.91
37.93 36.34 36.63
40
20 15.99
0
Starting Dealing Getting Registering Getting Protecting Paying Trading Enforcing Resolving
a with Electricity Property Credit Minority Taxes across Contracts Insolvency
Business Construction Investors Borders
Permits
Page 4Doing Business 2019 Cameroon
Starting a Business
This topic measures the number of procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital requirement for a small- to medium-sized limited
liability company to start up and formally operate in each economy’s largest business city.
To make the data comparable across 190 economies, Doing Business uses a standardized business that is 100% domestically owned, has
start-up capital equivalent to 10 times the income per capita, engages in general industrial or commercial activities and employs between 10
and 50 people one month after the commencement of operations, all of whom are domestic nationals. Starting a Business considers two
types of local limited liability companies that are identical in all aspects, except that one company is owned by 5 married women and the
other by 5 married men. The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their scores for starting a
business. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators.
The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information.
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Procedures to legally start and formally operate To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the
a company (number) business and the procedures are used. It is assumed that any required information is
readily available and that the entrepreneur will pay no bribes.
• Preregistration (for example, name verification or
reservation, notarization) The business:
• Registration in the economy’s largest business - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent). If there is more than one type
city
of limited liability company in the economy, the most common among domestic firms
• Postregistration (for example, social security is chosen. Information on the most common form is obtained from incorporation
registration, company seal) lawyers or the statistical office.
- Operates in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are
• Obtaining approval from spouse to start a also collected for the second largest business city.
business or to leave the home to register the
- The entire office space is approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet).
company
- Is 100% domestically owned and has five owners, none of whom is a legal entity;
• Obtaining any gender specific document for has a start-up capital of 10 times income per capita and has a turnover of at least
company registration and operation or national 100 times income per capita.
identification card - Performs general industrial or commercial activities, such as the production or sale
of goods or services to the public. The business does not perform foreign trade
Time required to complete each procedure
activities and does not handle products subject to a special tax regime, for example,
(calendar days)
liquor or tobacco. It does not use heavily polluting production processes.
• Does not include time spent gathering - Leases the commercial plant or offices and is not a proprietor of real estate and the
information amount of the annual lease for the office space is equivalent to the income per
capita.
• Each procedure starts on a separate day (2 - Does not qualify for investment incentives or any special benefits.
procedures cannot start on the same day)
- Has at least 10 and up to 50 employees one month after the commencement of
• Procedures fully completed online are recorded operations, all of whom are domestic nationals.
as ½ day - Has a company deed that is 10 pages long.
• Procedure is considered completed once final The owners:
document is received
- Have reached the legal age of majority. If there is no legal age of majority, they are
• No prior contact with officials assumed to be 30 years old.
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of - Are sane, competent, in good health and have no criminal record.
income per capita) - Are married and the marriage is monogamous and registered with the authorities.
- Where the answer differs according to the legal system applicable to the woman or
• Official costs only, no bribes man in question (as may be the case in economies where there is legal plurality), the
• No professional fees unless services required by answer used will be the one that applies to the majority of the population.
law or commonly used in practice
Paid-in minimum capital (% of income per
capita)
• Funds deposited in a bank or with third party
before registration or up to 3 months after
incorporation
Page 5Doing Business 2019 Cameroon
Starting a Business - Cameroon
Standardized Company
Legal form Limited Liability Company, Sociétés à Responsabilité Limitée
(SARL)
Paid-in minimum capital requirement XAF 100,000
City Covered Douala
Indicator Cameroon Sub-Saharan OECD high Best Regulatory
Africa income Performance
Procedure – Men (number) 5 7.4 4.9 1 (New Zealand)
Time – Men (days) 13 23.3 9.3 0.5 (New Zealand)
Cost – Men (% of income per capita) 24.6 44.4 3.1 0.0 (Slovenia)
Procedure – Women (number) 6 7.6 4.9 1 (New Zealand)
Time – Women (days) 14 23.4 9.3 0.5 (New Zealand)
Cost – Women (% of income per capita) 25.0 44.4 3.1 0.0 (Slovenia)
Paid-in min. capital (% of income per capita) 12.1 10.0 8.6 0.0 (117 Economies)
Figure – Starting a Business in Cameroon and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2019 Starting a Business Score
0 100
86.26: Cameroon (Rank: 92)
84.29: Ghana (Rank: 108)
82.59: Gabon (Rank: 124)
78.52: Regional Average (Sub-Saharan Africa)
64.10: Congo, Rep. (Rank: 179)
55.74: Equatorial Guinea (Rank: 184)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their scores for starting a business. These scores
are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators.
Page 6Doing Business 2019 Cameroon
Figure – Starting a Business in Cameroon – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita)
14 20
12
Cost (% of income per capita)
15
10
Time (days)
8
10
6
4
5
2
0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6
Procedures (number)
* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and
women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website
(http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below.
Page 7Doing Business 2019 Cameroon
Details – Starting a Business in Cameroon – Procedure, Time and Cost
No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 APPLIES TO WOMEN ONLY: Obtain marriage certificate for national 1 day XAF 3,000
identification card
Agency : Municipality
According to the decree N° 2007/254 of September 4th, 2007 regarding the
characteristics to obtain a National identity card, married women need to present
a marriage certificate when obtaining a national ID. Moreover, women need a
national ID when registering a business.
A certified copy of a marriage certificate can be obtained from the Civil Status
Office in 1 day on average. There is a cost of XAF 3,000 associated with this
procedure.
2 A public notary drafts a certificate requesting to a commercial bank to open 1 day no charge
a bank account for the new company
Agency : Notary
In practice, banks require that a notary public issues a certificate that the
company is in the process of creation (attestation d'ouverture de compte de
société en création) before the entrepreneur can open a temporary bank account
called "account of company in the process of creation". The registry provides the
name-checking service free of charge to notaries or lawyers/attorneys who have
access to the court’s information retrieval and relational database.
3 Deposit the initial capital in a bank and obtain a receipt 1 day no charge
Agency : Bank
Under Article 313 of the Uniform Act (the company law of the Organization for the
Harmonization of Business Law in Africa), founders are required to deposit the
start up capital in a bank or with a notary.
4 Have an attorney/notary or shareholders draft the memorandum and article 2 days 2% of the share
of association; sign company bylaws before the notary capital up to XAF
Agency : Notary 3,000,000 and 1,5%
Article 10 of the Uniform Act of the Organisation pour l'Harmonisation du Droit
for the capital from
des Affaires en Afrique (OHADA) states that the articles of association shall be
XAF 3,000,001 to
established by a notarial deed or by any other instrument that ensures legal
validity in Cameroon where the registered office will be located. Such instrument, 10,000,000 + XAF
together with a certification of the writing and signatures of all parties, should be 1000 per stamp (10
deposited as originals in a notary’s office. They may be amended only by the stamps)
same procedure. Based on Decree No. 2017/0877/PM, notarization of the
articles of association is not required for limited liability companies with a start-up
capital of up to XAF 999,999.
5 Apply for company registration at the One-Stop-Shop (CFCE) and request 8 days XAF 41,500 for
the publication of a notice of incorporation Registration + XAF
Agency : One-Stop Shop (Centre de Formalités de Création des Entreprises, 13,125 for Publication
CFCE)
The company documents and forms must be submitted to the front desk of the
One-Stop Shop (Centre de Formalités de Création des Entreprises). The staff will
register the company with the Registre du Commerce et du Crédit Mobilier and
with the Tax Administration. The following documents are required to file an
application with the court:
• Articles of association (copy).
• Location plan of business premises to get exoneration of the Patente.
• Criminal record of the directors of the company or sworn declaration.
• Certificate of non conviction (normally for nationals or resident aliens who are
shareholders).
• Photocopy of marriage certificates (if any).
• Declaration of regularity and conformity, drawn by the notary public and signed
by the business founders, or a notarial statement of subscription and payment in
lieu thereof.
Each page of the memorandum and articles of association must also carry the
current fiscal year’s fiscal stamp (XAF 1,000 a page).
A notice of incorporation must be published at Cameroun Tribune or another
newspaper approved by the Ministry of Telecommunication. The online
publication of a notice of incorporation can be requested to the One-Stop Shop.
In that case the notice will be published at
https://mybusiness.cm/page/annonces.
Page 8Doing Business 2019 Cameroon
6 Register the company and employees with the National Social Insurance 1 day no charge
Fund (Caisse Nationale de Prévoyance Sociale, CNPS)
Agency : National Social Insurance Fund (Caisse Nationale de Prévoyance
Sociale, CNPS)
The entrepreneur must register the company and its employees with the National
Social Insurance Fund (CNPS) to obtain a company number (numéro
d'immatriculation). For this registration it is necessary to present the following
documents: taxpayer ID (carte de contribuable), registration certificate and the
company's location map.
Applies to women only.
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
Page 9Doing Business 2019 Cameroon
Dealing with Construction Permits
This topic tracks the procedures, time and cost to build a warehouse—including obtaining necessary the licenses and permits, submitting all
required notifications, requesting and receiving all necessary inspections and obtaining utility connections. In addition, the Dealing with
Construction Permits indicator measures the building quality control index, evaluating the quality of building regulations, the strength of
quality control and safety mechanisms, liability and insurance regimes, and professional certification requirements. The most recent round of
data collection was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Procedures to legally build a warehouse To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the
(number) construction company, the warehouse project and the utility connections are used.
• Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining The construction company (BuildCo):
all necessary clearances, licenses, permits and
certificates - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent) and operates in the economy’s
largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second
• Submitting all required notifications and receiving largest business city.
all necessary inspections
- Is 100% domestically and privately owned; has five owners, none of whom is a
• Obtaining utility connections for water and legal entity. Has a licensed architect and a licensed engineer, both registered with
sewerage the local association of architects or engineers. BuildCo is not assumed to have any
other employees who are technical or licensed experts, such as geological or
• Registering and selling the warehouse after its topographical experts.
completion
- Owns the land on which the warehouse will be built and will sell the warehouse
Time required to complete each procedure upon its completion.
(calendar days)
The warehouse:
• Does not include time spent gathering
- Will be used for general storage activities, such as storage of books or stationery.
information
- Will have two stories, both above ground, with a total constructed area of
• Each procedure starts on a separate day— approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square feet). Each floor will be 3
though procedures that can be fully completed meters (9 feet, 10 inches) high and will be located on a land plot of approximately
online are an exception to this rule 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) that is 100% owned by BuildCo, and the
• Procedure is considered completed once final warehouse is valued at 50 times income per capita.
document is received - Will have complete architectural and technical plans prepared by a licensed
architect. If preparation of the plans requires such steps as obtaining further
• No prior contact with officials documentation or getting prior approvals from external agencies, these are counted
as procedures.
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of
- Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all delays due to administrative and
income per capita)
regulatory requirements).
• Official costs only, no bribes
The water and sewerage connections:
Building quality control index (0-15)
- Will be 150 meters (492 feet) from the existing water source and sewer tap. If there
• Quality of building regulations (0-2) is no water delivery infrastructure in the economy, a borehole will be dug. If there is
no sewerage infrastructure, a septic tank in the smallest size available will be
• Quality control before construction (0-1)
installed or built.
• Quality control during construction (0-3) - Will have an average water use of 662 liters (175 gallons) a day and an average
• Quality control after construction (0-3) wastewater flow of 568 liters (150 gallons) a day. Will have a peak water use of
1,325 liters (350 gallons) a day and a peak wastewater flow of 1,136 liters (300
• Liability and insurance regimes (0-2) gallons) a day.
• Professional certifications (0-4) - Will have a constant level of water demand and wastewater flow throughout the
year; will be 1 inch in diameter for the water connection and 4 inches in diameter for
the sewerage connection.
Page 10Doing Business 2019 Cameroon
Dealing with Construction Permits - Cameroon
Standardized Warehouse
Estimated value of warehouse XAF 41,460,691
City Covered Douala
Indicator Cameroon Sub-Saharan OECD high Best Regulatory
Africa income Performance
Procedures (number) 15 14.7 12.7 None in 2017/18
Time (days) 135 145.7 153.1 None in 2017/18
Cost (% of warehouse value) 13.4 8.8 1.5 None in 2017/18
Building quality control index (0-15) 13.0 8.5 11.5 15.0 (3 Economies)
Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Cameroon and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2019 Dealing with Construction Permits Score
0 100
66.16: Ghana (Rank: 115)
64.04: Congo, Rep. (Rank: 127)
62.04: Cameroon (Rank: 132)
59.23: Gabon (Rank: 144)
58.59: Regional Average (Sub-Saharan Africa)
55.01: Equatorial Guinea (Rank: 163)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of dealing with construction permits is determined by sorting their scores for dealing with
construction permits. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators.
Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Cameroon – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of warehouse value)
8
120 7
Cost (% of warehouse value)
100 6
Time (days)
5
80
4
60
3
40
2
20
1
0 0
1 *2 *3 *4 *5 *6 7 8 9 10 11 12 * 13 14 15
Procedures (number)
* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and
women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website
(http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below.
Page 11Doing Business 2019 Cameroon
Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Cameroon and comparator economies – Measure of Quality
15
13.0
11.0
Index score 9.5
10
8.5
7.5
5
1.0
0
Cameroon Congo, Rep. Equatorial Guinea Gabon Ghana Sub-Saharan Africa
Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Cameroon – Procedure, Time and Cost
No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Obtain recent proof of land ownership 15 days XAF 6,000
Agency : Ministry of Urban Development
A recent proof of land ownership or property certificate can now be obtained from
the Ministry of Urban Planning Development (Ministere du Developpement
Urbain). This was previously obtained from the Land Registrar (Service des
domaines). Although the official fee is XAF 6,000.00, applicants often must pay
an informal fee to obtain the property certificate.
2 Obtain a fire clearance certificate from the Fire Department 7 days XAF 300,000
Agency : Fire Department
Since July 2014, it is a requirement to obtain a security instructions clearance
issued by the Fire Brigade for buildings that are more than 400 sq. m, which
would apply to the Doing Business case study warehouse.
3 Obtain a certificate of urban planning (certificat d'urbanisme) 10 days XAF 16,200
Agency : Communauté Urbaine
The Planning Certificate shows whether this is a building land, provides
information on the density of permitted construction, and notifies of the existence
of easements. It also provides information on whether utilities are available on
this land or planned in the future (water, electricity) and finally it provides
information on the rules for construction.
4 Obtain the approval of the overall plan and the site plan by the Cadastre 10 days XAF 100,000
Agency : Cadastre
The overall plan and the site plan must both be approved by the Registry before
the request for a building permit can be submitted.
5 Obtain geo-technical assessment 7 days XAF 1,200,000
Agency : Certified companies, such as LABOGENIE, GEOFOR, APAVE
A geo-technical study is required by law (Article 3 of Loi n° 99/017 du 22
décembre 1999 régissant le contrôle de qualité des sols, des matériaux de
construction et des études géotechniques). The services of a professional
certified company are requested. Upon completing a soil analysis, the company
will produce and sign a report, a copy of which will be included in the building
permit application. The permit fee is negotiable.
6 Hire an authorized supervision agency 1 day XAF 3,109,552
Agency : Private Firm
For buildings with a surface area of more than 400 sq. m., contractors must hire
a private company “Bureau d’Etude” to supervise the construction phase.
According to Decree Nº 201/1005 PM/ of May 21, 2014, the Communauté
Urbaine de Doula now requires that a contract with a Bureau d’Etude be
submitted when requesting a building permit.
7 Receive on-site inspection by the Douala Urban Council 1 day XAF 15,000
Agency : Douala Urban Council
This inspection takes place before the building permit approval.
Page 12Doing Business 2019 Cameroon
8 Obtain building permit 30 days XAF 415,607
Agency : Douala Urban Council
To obtain a building permit, BuildCo must submit four copies of each of the
following documents:
• Application (stamped, with forms provided by the Douala Urban Council). The
fiscal stamp and two communal stamps (timbre fiscal et deux timbre
communaux) are required.
• Certificates of ownership
• Certificates of urban planning (Certificat d’urbanisme)
• Block and location plans (plan de situation et plan de masse)
• Site, foundation, roofing, view or elevation, and septic tank plans
• Descriptive estimates
All plans must be signed by an architect accredited by the National Order of
Architects (l’Ordre National des Architectes du Cameroun, ONAC).
The company hires a structural engineer, accredited by the National Order of
Structural Engineers, to develop a structural design that then serves as the
execution plan. Because the engineer signs this document, it is not modifiable
without his express consent. Although an FCFA 1,000.00 application fee is
payable upon submission, the building permit fee is paid upon permit approval.
The official time limit for permit approval is 90 days. Afterwards, the silent-is-
consent rule applies.
9 Receive inspection to verify the location (implantation) 1 day no charge
Agency : Service Technique
The Technical Committee must then inspect the site and issue a report (Proces
Verbal).
10 Apply for the certificate of conformity 1 day no charge
Agency : City Hall of Douala
Under the Decree Nº2013/0042/PM of January 2013, the owner of the newly
constructed warehouse must apply for a certificate of confirmity with the City Hall
(La Mairie de Douala).
11 Receive joint inspection from the Commite Consultatif 15 days no charge
Agency : Comité Consultatif
Once the application for the certificate of conformity has been submitted, the
Comité Consultatif must then inspect the site and issue a report (Proces Verbal).
12 Obtain certificate of conformity 21 days no charge
Agency : Comité Consultatif
Once the final inspection is completed, a report is made by the Advisory
Committee and the certificate of conformity will be signed by the Mayor, once the
record is transmitted.
Request water connection 1 day no charge
13 Agency : Camerounaise des Eaux
14 Receive inspection by customer service for a cost estimate 1 day no charge
Agency : Camerounaise des Eaux
Two days after the application has been received and process, customer service
will visit the site to do a cost estimate. The client will be informed of the cost
estimate and must pay the entire amount.
15 Obtain water connection after payment 50 days XAF 400,000
Agency : Camerounaise des Eaux
Installation of the meter is done in 15 business days. If there are more than 50
meters of pipe, then there will be an extension of the network and this will take
longer and cost more. The official fee is published in every agency and it is
FCFA100 000 for a regular installation, of 50 meters. In the case of an extension
of the network, such the Doing Business case study, then the cost can go up to
FCFA 400,000
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
Page 13Doing Business 2019 Cameroon
Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Cameroon – Measure of Quality
Answer Score
Building quality control index (0-15) 13.0
Quality of building regulations index (0-2) 2.0
How accessible are building laws and regulations in your economy? (0-1) Available online; 1.0
Free of charge.
Which requirements for obtaining a building permit are clearly specified in the building List of required 1.0
regulations or on any accessible website, brochure or pamphlet? (0-1) documents; Fees
to be paid;
Required
preapprovals.
Quality control before construction index (0-1) 1.0
Which third-party entities are required by law to verify that the building plans are in Licensed 1.0
compliance with existing building regulations? (0-1) architect;
Licensed
engineer; Private
firm.
Quality control during construction index (0-3) 2.0
What types of inspections (if any) are required by law to be carried out during construction? Inspections by 1.0
(0-2) external engineer
or firm;
Inspections at
various phases.
Do legally mandated inspections occur in practice during construction? (0-1) Mandatory 1.0
inspections are
always done in
practice;
Inspections are
not mandated by
law but
commonly occur
in practice during
construction.
Quality control after construction index (0-3) 2.0
Is there a final inspection required by law to verify that the building was built in accordance Yes, final 2.0
with the approved plans and regulations? (0-2) inspection is
done by
government
agency; Yes,
external engineer
submits report for
final inspection.
Do legally mandated final inspections occur in practice? (0-1) Final inspection 0.0
does not always
occur in practice;
Final inspection
occurs most of
the time.
Liability and insurance regimes index (0-2) 2.0
Which parties (if any) are held liable by law for structural flaws or problems in the building Architect or 1.0
once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability or Decennial Liability)? (0-1) engineer;
Professional in
charge of the
supervision;
Construction
company.
Page 14Doing Business 2019 Cameroon
Which parties (if any) are required by law to obtain an insurance policy to cover possible Architect or 1.0
structural flaws or problems in the building once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability Insurance engineer;
or Decennial Insurance)? (0-1) Professional in
charge of the
supervision;
Construction
company;
Insurance is
commonly taken
in practice.
Professional certifications index (0-4) 4.0
What are the qualification requirements for the professional responsible for verifying that the Minimum number 2.0
architectural plans or drawings are in compliance with existing building regulations? (0-2) of years of
experience;
University degree
in architecture or
engineering;
Being a
registered
architect or
engineer.
What are the qualification requirements for the professional who supervises the construction Minimum number 2.0
on the ground? (0-2) of years of
experience;
University degree
in engineering,
construction or
construction
management;
Being a
registered
architect or
engineer.
Page 15Doing Business 2019 Cameroon
Getting Electricity
This topic measures the procedures, time and cost required for a business to obtain a permanent electricity connection for a newly
constructed warehouse. Additionally, the reliability of supply and transparency of tariffs index measures reliability of supply, transparency of
tariffs and the price of electricity. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology
for more information.
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Procedures to obtain an electricity connection To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the
(number) warehouse, the electricity connection and the monthly consumption are used.
• Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining The warehouse:
all necessary clearances and permits
- Is owned by a local entrepreneur and is used for storage of goods.
• Completing all required notifications and - Is located in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are
receiving all necessary inspections
also collected for the second largest business city.
• Obtaining external installation works and possibly - Is located in an area where similar warehouses are typically located and is in an
purchasing material for these works area with no physical constraints. For example, the property is not near a railway.
- Is a new construction and is being connected to electricity for the first time.
• Concluding any necessary supply contract and - Has two stories with a total surface area of approximately 1,300.6 square meters
obtaining final supply
(14,000 square feet). The plot of land on which it is built is 929 square meters
Time required to complete each procedure (10,000 square feet).
(calendar days)
The electricity connection:
• Is at least 1 calendar day
- Is a permanent one with a three-phase, four-wire Y connection with a subscribed
• Each procedure starts on a separate day capacity of 140-kilo-volt-ampere (kVA) with a power factor of 1, when 1 kVA = 1
kilowatt (kW).
• Does not include time spent gathering
information - Has a length of 150 meters. The connection is to either the low- or medium-voltage
distribution network and is either overhead or underground, whichever is more
• Reflects the time spent in practice, with little common in the area where the warehouse is located and requires works that involve
follow-up and no prior contact with officials the crossing of a 10-meter road (such as by excavation or overhead lines) but are all
carried out on public land. There is no crossing of other owners’ private property
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of
because the warehouse has access to a road.
income per capita)
- Does not require work to install the internal wiring of the warehouse. This has
• Official costs only, no bribes already been completed up to and including the customer’s service panel or
switchboard and the meter base.
• Value added tax excluded
The monthly consumption:
The reliability of supply and transparency of
tariffs index (0-8)
- It is assumed that the warehouse operates 30 days a month from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00
• Duration and frequency of power outages (0–3) p.m. (8 hours a day), with equipment utilized at 80% of capacity on average and that
there are no electricity cuts (assumed for simplicity reasons) and the monthly energy
• Tools to monitor power outages (0–1) consumption is 26,880 kilowatt-hours (kWh); hourly consumption is 112 kWh.
• Tools to restore power supply (0–1) - If multiple electricity suppliers exist, the warehouse is served by the cheapest
supplier.
• Regulatory monitoring of utilities’ performance
(0–1) - Tariffs effective in January of the current year are used for calculation of the price of
electricity for the warehouse. Although January has 31 days, for calculation
• Financial deterrents limiting outages (0–1) purposes only 30 days are used.
• Transparency and accessibility of tariffs (0–1)
Price of electricity (cents per kilowatt-hour)*
• Price based on monthly bill for commercial
warehouse in case study
*Note: Doing Business measures the price of
electricity, but it is not included in the ease of doing
business score nor the ranking on the ease of
getting electricity.
Page 16Doing Business 2019 Cameroon
Getting Electricity - Cameroon
Standardized Connection
Price of electricity (US cents per kWh) 14.1
Name of utility Eneo Cameroun
City Covered Douala
Indicator Cameroon Sub-Saharan OECD high Best Regulatory
Africa income Performance
Procedures (number) 4 5.2 4.5 3 (25 Economies)
Time (days) 64 112.0 77.2 18 (3 Economies)
Cost (% of income per capita) 1552.7 3456.5 64.2 0.0 (3 Economies)
Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff 0 1.6 7.5 8.0 (27 Economies)
index (0-8)
Figure – Getting Electricity in Cameroon and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2019 Getting Electricity Score
0 100
74.02: Ghana (Rank: 86)
61.04: Cameroon (Rank: 129)
54.41: Equatorial Guinea (Rank: 150)
49.58: Gabon (Rank: 161)
49.00: Regional Average (Sub-Saharan Africa)
29.00: Congo, Rep. (Rank: 182)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of getting electricity is determined by sorting their scores for getting electricity. These scores are
the simple average of the scores for all the component indicators except the price of electricity.
Page 17Doing Business 2019 Cameroon
Figure – Getting Electricity in Cameroon – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita)
1600
60
1400
Cost (% of income per capita)
50
1200
Time (days)
40 1000
800
30
600
20
400
10
200
0 0
1 *2 3 4
Procedures (number)
* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and
women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website
(http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below.
Figure – Getting Electricity in Cameroon and comparator economies – Measure of Quality
8
7
6
Index score
5
4
4
3
3
2 1.6
1
0 0 0
0
Cameroon Congo, Rep. Equatorial Guinea Gabon Ghana Sub-Saharan Africa
Page 18Doing Business 2019 Cameroon
Details – Getting Electricity in Cameroon – Procedure, Time and Cost
No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Submit application to Eneo and await estimate 14 calendar days XAF 0
Agency : Eneo Cameroon
Along with the application (that can be submitted only in person), the client needs
to submit the following when requesting an electricity connection:
• Location map (“plan de localization”)
• Copy of registered lease agreement (if tenant)
• Taxpayer’s ID card
• Commercial register
• Establishing shot (“plan de situation”)
2 Receive external inspection by Eneo 1 calendar day USD 952.38
Agency : Eneo Cameroon
Eneo inspects the site and prepares an estimate of the connection fees. A
contract is signed after the client has paid the fees.
3 Sign contract with and obtain external works from Eneo 43 calendar days USD 19,047.62
Agency : Eneo Cameroon
In this case, a unit substation is necessary. All material is provided by Eneo
4 Obtain meter installation and final connection from Eneo 7 calendar days XAF 680,785.96
Agency : Eneo Cameroon
When the works are completed, Eneo installs the meter. Subscription is also
made at the time of obtaining the connection
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
Page 19Doing Business 2019 Cameroon
Details – Getting Electricity in Cameroon – Measure of Quality
Answer
Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index (0-8) 0
Total duration and frequency of outages per customer a year (0-3) 0
System average interruption duration index (SAIDI) ..
System average interruption frequency index (SAIFI) ..
What is the minimum outage time (in minutes) that the utility considers for the calculation of SAIDI/SAIFI N/A
Mechanisms for monitoring outages (0-1) 0
Does the distribution utility use automated tools to monitor outages? No
Mechanisms for restoring service (0-1) 0
Does the distribution utility use automated tools to restore service? No
Regulatory monitoring (0-1) 1
Does a regulator—that is, an entity separate from the utility—monitor the utility’s performance on reliability of Yes
supply?
Financial deterrents aimed at limiting outages (0-1) 1
Does the utility either pay compensation to customers or face fines by the regulator (or both) if outages Yes
exceed a certain cap?
Communication of tariffs and tariff changes (0-1) 1
Are effective tariffs available online? Yes
Link to the website, if available online http://eneocameroon.
cm/index.php/fr/client
s-professionnels-
vos-factures-et-
paiement/clients-
professionnels-vos-
factures-et-
paiement-tarifs-
delectricite
Are customers notified of a change in tariff ahead of the billing cycle? Yes
Note:
If the duration and frequency of outages is 100 or less, the economy is eligible to score on the Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff
index.
If the duration and frequency of outages is not available, or is over 100, the economy is not eligible to score on the index.
If the minimum outage time considered for SAIDI/SAIFI is over 5 minutes, the economy is not eligible to score on the index.
Page 20Doing Business 2019 Cameroon
Registering Property
This topic examines the steps, time and cost involved in registering property, assuming a standardized case of an entrepreneur who wants to
purchase land and a building that is already registered and free of title dispute. In addition, the topic also measures the quality of the land
administration system in each economy. The quality of land administration index has five dimensions: reliability of infrastructure, transparency
of information, geographic coverage, land dispute resolution, and equal access to property rights. The most recent round of data collection for
the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information.
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Procedures to legally transfer title on To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the
immovable property (number) parties to the transaction, the property and the procedures are used.
• Preregistration procedures (for example, The parties (buyer and seller):
checking for liens, notarizing sales agreement,
paying property transfer taxes) - Are limited liability companies (or the legal equivalent).
- Are located in the periurban area of the economy’s largest business city. For 11
• Registration procedures in the economy's largest economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city.
business city.
- Are 100% domestically and privately owned.
• Postregistration procedures (for example, filling - Have 50 employees each, all of whom are nationals.
title with municipality) - Perform general commercial activities.
Time required to complete each procedure The property (fully owned by the seller):
(calendar days)
- Has a value of 50 times income per capita, which equals the sale price.
• Does not include time spent gathering - Is fully owned by the seller.
information - Has no mortgages attached and has been under the same ownership for the past
10 years.
• Each procedure starts on a separate day -
- Is registered in the land registry or cadastre, or both, and is free of title disputes.
though procedures that can be fully completed
online are an exception to this rule - Is located in a periurban commercial zone, and no rezoning is required.
- Consists of land and a building. The land area is 557.4 square meters (6,000
• Procedure is considered completed once final square feet). A two-story warehouse of 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) is
document is received located on the land. The warehouse is 10 years old, is in good condition, has no
• No prior contact with officials heating system and complies with all safety standards, building codes and legal
requirements. The property, consisting of land and building, will be transferred in its
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of entirety.
property value) - Will not be subject to renovations or additional construction following the purchase.
- Has no trees, natural water sources, natural reserves or historical monuments of
• Official costs only (such as administrative fees, any kind.
duties and taxes).
- Will not be used for special purposes, and no special permits, such as for
• Value Added Tax, Capital Gains Tax and illicit residential use, industrial plants, waste storage or certain types of agricultural
payments are excluded activities, are required.
- Has no occupants, and no other party holds a legal interest in it.
Quality of land administration index (0-30)
• Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8)
• Transparency of information index (0–6)
• Geographic coverage index (0–8)
• Land dispute resolution index (0–8)
• Equal access to property rights index (-2–0)
Page 21Doing Business 2019 Cameroon
Registering Property - Cameroon
Indicator Cameroon Sub-Saharan OECD high Best Regulatory
Africa income Performance
Procedures (number) 5 6.2 4.7 1 (4 Economies)
Time (days) 81 53.9 20.1 1 (New Zealand)
Cost (% of property value) 18.7 7.6 4.2 0.0 (Saudi Arabia)
Quality of the land administration index (0-30) 7.0 8.8 23.0 None in 2017/18
Figure – Registering Property in Cameroon and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2019 Registering Property Score
0 100
55.54: Ghana (Rank: 123)
52.62: Regional Average (Sub-Saharan Africa)
44.45: Equatorial Guinea (Rank: 164)
37.93: Cameroon (Rank: 176)
37.87: Congo, Rep. (Rank: 177)
37.09: Gabon (Rank: 178)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of registering property is determined by sorting their scores for registering property. These
scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators.
Figure – Registering Property in Cameroon – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of property value)
80 16
70 14
Cost (% of property value)
60 12
Time (days)
50 10
40 8
30 6
20 4
10 2
0 0
1 2 3 4 5
Procedures (number)
* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and
women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website
(http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below.
Page 22Doing Business 2019 Cameroon
Figure – Registering Property in Cameroon and comparator economies – Measure of Quality
30
25
Index score
20
15
10 8.0 8.8
7.0
3.5 4.0 4.5
5
0
Cameroon Congo, Rep. Equatorial Guinea Gabon Ghana Sub-Saharan Africa
Details – Registering Property in Cameroon – Procedure, Time and Cost
No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Obtain a copy of the property deed at the Land Registry “Service Des 14 days XAF 7,000; (XAF
Domaines” 5,000 for the
Agency : Land Registry (Conservation foncière du Wouri) certificate + 1,000 for
The buyer should perform due diligence before entering into a sale agreement
the stamp attached to
with the owner of the property by requesting a copy of the property deed from the
the request + 1,000
Land Registry. The copy will include all useful information regarding the property
and its history since its registration with the Land Registry. The party will see for the stamp
whether the seller is indeed the owner of the property and whether the property is attached to the copy
encumbered with mortgages or liens. of the property deed)
2 A notary drafts the sale agreement 3 days XAF 693,455.18;
Agency : Notary's Office (Notary fees is fixed
The law requires that the sale agreement is notarized. It is the practice that
by Decree No. 95/038
parties ask the notary to draft the sale agreement himself. The Notary will
of 28/02/95 (article
prepare a preliminary sale agreement and will take the parties’ final observations.
188) on a sliding
The notary finally asks the parties to sign the agreement, and the notary will
register the agreement with the tax authorities. scale:
Percentage rate fees
based on the property
value:
1 to 3 million francs:
4.5%
3 to 10 million francs:
3.0%
10 to 25 million
francs: 1.5%
25 to 50 million
francs: 0.75%
50 million francs and
above: 0.5%)
3 Notarize the registered sale agreement and submit the tax declaration 2 days XAF 6,219,103.65;
Agency : Notary's Office (15% of the Property
The buyer and seller sign the sale agreement, which is then signed by the
Value)
Notary. Following the last reform established by the Tax Authority (Direction
générale des impôts), Notaries now have the option of making the tax declaration
of the sale agreement online. Notaries should first create an account on the Tax
Authority website www.impots.cm to be able to fill the information concerning the
sale agreement. Once all details are entered, the data are sent directly to the Tax
Authority. The notary will receive a slip with the amount of the property
transaction fee that should be printed and paid at the commercial bank. The
property transaction fees are 15% of the property value.
The online service is currently available only in Yaounde (Mfoundi), and Douala
(Wouri) and just notaries have access to it.
4 Finalize sale registration with the Tax Authority 2 days Included in procedure
Agency : Tax authority (Centre Spécialisé des lmpôts des Professions Libérales 3
etude l'lmmobilier)
To complete the formal sale registration at the Tax Authorities, the taxpayer must
go personally to the specialized tax center (Centre Spécialisé des lmpôts des
Professions Libérales etude l'lmmobilier) and deposit a folder with the following
documents:
• (1) copy of the sale agreement notarized with annexes
• (3) copies of the stamped minutes
• (1) tax payment slip
• (1) Bank transfer attestation
Following the submission of documents, the property transfer will be formally
registered in a maximum deadline of 48 hours (2 days).
Page 23Doing Business 2019 Cameroon
5 Final transfer of the property title with the Land Registry “Service des 60 days XAF 829,213.82; (2%
Domaines” of the property value)
Agency : Land Registry (Conservation foncière du Wouri)
The form can now be taken to the Land Registry and file a request for transfer of
property. It can take up to 2 months before the title is effectively transferred to the
buyer.
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
Page 24Doing Business 2019 Cameroon
Details – Registering Property in Cameroon – Measure of Quality
Answer Score
Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8) 2.0
What is the institution in charge of immovable property registration? Land Registry of
Wouri
(Conservation
foncière du
Wouri)
In what format are the majority of title or deed records kept in the largest business city—in a Paper 0.0
paper format or in a computerized format (scanned or fully digital)?
Is there an electronic database for checking for encumbrances (liens, mortgages, restrictions No 0.0
and the like)?
Institution in charge of the plans showing legal boundaries in the largest business city: Le service du
Cadastre
In what format are the majority of maps of land plots kept in the largest business city—in a Paper 0.0
paper format or in a computerized format (scanned or fully digital)?
Is there an electronic database for recording boundaries, checking plans and providing No 0.0
cadastral information (geographic information system)?
Is the information recorded by the immovable property registration agency and the cadastral Different 1.0
or mapping agency kept in a single database, in different but linked databases or in separate databases but
databases? linked
Do the immovable property registration agency and cadastral or mapping agency use the Yes 1.0
same identification number for properties?
Transparency of information index (0–6) 2.5
Who is able to obtain information on land ownership at the agency in charge of immovable Only 0.0
property registration in the largest business city? intermediaries
and interested
parties
Is the list of documents that are required to complete any type of property transaction made Yes, online 0.5
publicly available–and if so, how?
Link for online access: http://www.gutf.c
m/images/docum
ents/manuels/fr/
MINDCAF_Matric
eProcedures_fr.p
df
Is the applicable fee schedule for any property transaction at the agency in charge of Yes, online 0.5
immovable property registration in the largest business city made publicly available–and if
so, how?
Link for online access: http://www.gutf.c
m/images/docum
ents/manuels/fr/
MINDCAF_Matric
eProcedures_fr.p
df
Does the agency in charge of immovable property registration commit to delivering a legally Yes, online 0.5
binding document that proves property ownership within a specific time frame–and if so, how
does it communicate the service standard?
Link for online access: http://www.gutf.c
m/images/docum
ents/manuels/fr/
MINDCAF_Matric
eProcedures_fr.p
df
Is there a specific and separate mechanism for filing complaints about a problem that No 0.0
occurred at the agency in charge of immovable property registration?
Contact information:
Page 25Doing Business 2019 Cameroon
Are there publicly available official statistics tracking the number of transactions at the No 0.0
immovable property registration agency?
Number of property transfers in the largest business city in 2017:
Who is able to consult maps of land plots in the largest business city? Only 0.0
intermediaries
and interested
parties
Is the applicable fee schedule for accessing maps of land plots made publicly available— Yes, online 0.5
and if so, how?
Link for online access: http://www.gutf.c
m/images/docum
ents/manuels/fr/
MINDCAF_Matric
eProcedures_fr.p
df
Does the cadastral or mapping agency commit to delivering an updated map within a Yes, online 0.5
specific time frame—and if so, how does it communicate the service standard?
Link for online access: http://www.gutf.c
m/images/docum
ents/manuels/fr/
MINDCAF_Matric
eProcedures_fr.p
df,
http://www.gutf.c
m/images/docum
ents/manuels/fr/
Manuel_procedur
e.pdf
Is there a specific and separate mechanism for filing complaints about a problem that No 0.0
occurred at the cadastral or mapping agency?
Contact information:
Geographic coverage index (0–8) 0.0
Are all privately held land plots in the economy formally registered at the immovable property No 0.0
registry?
Are all privately held land plots in the largest business city formally registered at the No 0.0
immovable property registry?
Are all privately held land plots in the economy mapped? No 0.0
Are all privately held land plots in the largest business city mapped? No 0.0
Land dispute resolution index (0–8) 3.5
Does the law require that all property sale transactions be registered at the immovable Yes 1.5
property registry to make them opposable to third parties?
Is the system of immovable property registration subject to a state or private guarantee? No 0.0
Is there a specific compensation mechanism to cover for losses incurred by parties who No 0.0
engaged in good faith in a property transaction based on erroneous information certified by
the immovable property registry?
Does the legal system require a control of legality of the documents necessary for a property Yes 0.5
transaction (e.g., checking the compliance of contracts with requirements of the law)?
If yes, who is responsible for checking the legality of the documents? Notary; Lawyer;
Does the legal system require verification of the identity of the parties to a property Yes 0.5
transaction?
If yes, who is responsible for verifying the identity of the parties? Registrar; Notary;
Is there a national database to verify the accuracy of identity documents? No 0.0
For a standard land dispute between two local businesses over tenure rights of a property Le Tribunal de
worth 50 times gross national income (GNI) per capita and located in the largest business Grande Instance
city, what court would be in charge of the case in the first instance? du Wouri
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