Cameroon’s Minister of SMEs, Social Economy and Handicrafts, Achille Bassilekin III, met with Jean Luc Mastaki Namegabe, Director of the UNECA Central Africa Sub-regional Office, in Yaoundé on September 29, 2026, to discuss the SMEs WOOD'S PARK project. This project aims to establish three industrial parks in Lomié, Sangmélima and Edéa dedicated to wood processing, shifting from timber exports to local value-added transformation driven by Cameroonian SMEs. The discussions focused on integrating SMEs into the wood value chain, promoting local content and subcontracting, and securing innovative financing mechanisms. The potential of Special Economic Zones (SEZ) to accelerate industrialization was also explored. This collaboration aligns with Cameroon’s import substitution and job creation policies, while the UN views it as a model for structural transformation across Africa. The project ultimately seeks to boost the Cameroonian economy through localized production and sustainable development.