Now Senior Investment Officer at the entrepreneurial development bank of the Netherlands, FMO, Ben Zwinkels started his professional career in Cameroon. He has since remained attached to the country.

By Anne Mireille Nzouankeu, Yaoundé

It was in 1975 when Zwinkels visited Cameroon for the first time. Fresh out of university, the 26-year-old was hungry for adventure and soon heard about a Financial Controller position opening in Cameroon. “I thought to myself: what is Cameroon?” says Zwinkels with a big smile. He had to look for a while before locating it on a map.

Love for the country
After three months of tropical studies in Amsterdam, Zwinkels landed in Cameroon with his wife, Marcelle. His position was based in Kumba, an isolated area in the Anglophone South-Western province. “It was very hot and there were no infrastructures”, Zwinkels recalls.

Nevertheless, he stayed in the country and, for four years, he worked as an auditor and financial controller for a company regrouping 27 small banks. Despite the difficult living conditions, he enjoyed the work. “We were giving loans to the most disadvantaged people. We were helping them start their own farms, for instance. Today, I am happy to see that these microloans helped people send their children to school, and these children are now high ranking officials in government”, he rejoices.

Investing in Cameroon
Today, Zwinkels is a senior investment officer at the FMO which facilitates access to long-term credits for Dutch companies. Since 1982, he has been working with 30 African countries including Cameroon. He is therefore aware of some of the challenges to be faced by Dutch companies looking to invest in the country.

“There is a lack of basic infrastructures such as roads. Companies would make less profit than in other countries like Tunisia, for instance. Elsewhere, there are investor-friendly customs and taxation policies in place. However, taxes in Cameroon are too high and it’s not easy to operate legitimately,” remarks Zwinkels, referring to the bribes systematically taken by government officials in the line of duty.

“I respect people but I find it unacceptable to be expected to pay someone 3 to 5 euros to do his job”, he says.

Disappointment
When he looks back, Zwinkels is disappointed because “in 30 years, there haven’t been much infrastructural developments in Cameroon even though they were planned”. He cites, for instance, the road linking Loum to Kumba, in the South-Western province. “It is vital for the country because it connects the francophone and Anglophone regions. The government committed to paving that road in 1980 but in 2011, it is still not paved”, Zwinkels grieves.

He actually wrote numerous letters with suggestions to various ministers, and even to the Prime Minister of Cameroon, but in vain.

Not all bad
However, all is not bad in Cameroon. “The positive aspect that I really appreciate here is the hardworking Cameroonian people, especially women. They are able to support their families with little means. I think this country can easily become an emerging economy: it all rests on the education of the young generation”, Zwinkels says.

He carries on: “Cameroon also has high quality agricultural products but they are not marketed adequately. There is also a shortage of packaging. The Netherlands has huge capabilities in both trade and logistics, and there are many opportunities in Cameroon for a company specialising in logistics and the transformation of agricultural products.” Besides, these investments could contribute to Cameroon’s development through job creation.

A Cameroonian
Zwinkels always remained attached to his adopted African country. Even after he was redeployed for a similar position in Tunisia, after having spent the first for years in Cameroon, he kept visiting the country. Today, he refers to Cameroonians as “we” and insists that “after practically living there for more than 30 years, I consider myself a Cameroonian. My wife and I own a house in Bamenda (in the North-Western province) and we have a family in Cameroon.”

His wife, Marcelle, worked for 25 years for an airline company. She now runs her own travel agency, Zwinkels Tours Cameroon, which “brings around 500 tourists to the country every year. It’s not much, but we believe it has the potential to grow further”, Zwinkels says.

At the age of 62, Zwinkels and his wife have adopted a Cameroonian child. So, it looks like he might be spending the rest of his life in his beloved Cameroon.