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LEGAL FRAMEWORK OF THE SOCIAL ECONOMY IN CAMEROON

Organisational summary, administrative obligations and statistical data

 

The legal framework governing the social economy in Cameroon rests on one framework law and two implementing texts (full links in the References section):

 

Type	Title	Role
Framework law	Law No. 2019/004 of 25 April 2019 governing the social economy in Cameroon	Founding text: defines, delimits and structures the sector
Implementing decree	Decree No. 2020/0001/PM of 3 January 2020 on the structuring and functioning of the networking of social economy units	Implements Art. 14: organises the network mesh (RELESS, etc.)
Implementing order	Order No. 042/PM of 23 May 2022 setting the terms for registering and maintaining the General Register of Social Economy Units	Implements Art. 5: organises central registration

 

 

The framework law defines the social economy as the set of economic activities carried out by private-law legal entities that adhere to three founding principles:

• Solidarity among members
• The primacy of the individual over capital
• Democratic and participatory management

 

These organisations aim to reconcile economic activity with social equity. The law distinguishes four categories of SEOs:

 

Category	Definition
Associations	A non-profit organisation formed by a group of people to pursue common goals, often of a social, cultural, educational or philanthropic nature.
Cooperatives	A collective enterprise in which members share profits and decisions; it aims to meet the economic and social needs of its members.
Mutual societies	A non-profit organisation providing social protection and health services to its members in exchange for contributions.
Foundations	A non-profit organisation that uses funds to support social, educational, cultural or philanthropic causes.

 

3.1 Structuring into Networks (Decree No. 2020/0001/PM)

• General Assembly / Steering Committee — sovereign body (2 representatives per cooperative)
• Board / Board of Directors — 6 to 7 members: Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Training Officer, HR Officer, Cooperative Market Officer, Public-Relations Officer
• Concrete outcome: 326 RELESS, 54 REDESS and 9 RERESS networks, i.e. 389 networks in total in 2024

Source: MINPMEESA, 2024 Statistical Yearbook on MSMEs, Table 24.

3.2 Central Registration (Order No. 042/PM)

The order sets out the practical arrangements for keeping the General Register of Social Economy Units established by Article 5 of the law.

4.1 Arising from Law No. 2019/004

Obligation	Description	Article
Adherence to founding principles	Adopt and comply with the principles of solidarity, primacy of the individual over capital, and democratic/participatory management	Art. 3
Registration in the General Register	Register with the General Register of Social Economy Units	Art. 5
Joining a network	Affiliate with a structured territorial network (e.g. RELESS)	Art. 14

 

4.2 Arising from Decree No. 2020/0001/PM

Obligation	Description
Compliant internal governance	Set up a General Assembly/Steering Committee and a Board/Board of Directors following the standard template
Appointment of representatives	Send a set number of representatives (e.g. 2 per cooperative) to network assemblies

 

4.3 Arising from Order No. 042/PM

Follow the practical registration procedure set out by the order (forms, supporting documents) and keep information up to date.

 

5.1 Association (Law No. 90/053 of 19 December 1990)

• Draft the bylaws (2 copies) and hold the constituent General Assembly
• Prepare the file: stamped declaration letter, bylaws, minutes of the constituent General Assembly, list of officers
• File with the Prefecture of the department of the head office
• Timeline: the Prefect's silence for 2 months after a complete filing amounts to acceptance (Art. 7)
• Open a bank account

5.2 Foundation — Two Possible Routes

• Route 1 — Foundation-association (Law No. 90/053): identical procedure to an association, no minimum capital
• Route 2 — Corporate foundation (Law No. 2003/013 of 22 December 2003): initial endowment and bank guarantee mandatory, minimum duration of 6 years, notarised bylaws, filing with the Prefecture, 2-month silence amounts to approval, legal personality acquired upon publication in the Official Gazette

5.3 Cooperative (OHADA Uniform Act of 15 Dec. 2010)

• Choose the form: Simplified Cooperative Society (SCOOP-S, min. 5 persons) or Cooperative Society with Board of Directors (COOP-CA, min. 15 persons)
• Draft the bylaws and hold the constituent General Assembly
• File: list of members/management committee, sworn statements (Art. 10), capital subscription statement, bank certificate
• Registration with the Register of Cooperative Societies within 1 month (Art. 70 et seq.)

5.4 Mutual Society

Cameroon has no standalone law on mutual societies. In practice, a mutual society is set up:

• As an association (Law No. 90/053) — the most common route for community health mutual societies
• As a cooperative society (OHADA Uniform Act) — for a savings/credit purpose
• With an additional COBAC licence if it habitually carries out savings/credit activity (microfinance institution)

 

⚠️ Important correction:

 

since 1 January 2024, the entry into force of the OHADA Uniform Act on the Accounting System for Non-Profit Entities (SYCEBNL) has made this harmonised accounting framework binding on all Cameroonian Social Economy Organisations — associations, NGOs, foundations and mutual societies — as non-profit entities headquartered in an OHADA member state (Cameroon being one of them).

 

6.1 Scope and Content of SYCEBNL

• Adopted by the OHADA Council of Ministers on 21-22 December 2022 in Niamey (Niger); published in the OHADA Official Gazette on 22 February 2023; entered into force on 1 January 2024
• 11th OHADA Uniform Act, complementing the Uniform Act on Accounting Law and Financial Reporting (AUDCIF/SYSCOHADA)
• Applies to any non-profit entity (association, NGO, foundation, mutual society) headquartered or operating in one of the 17 OHADA member states, unless subject to public accounting rules or a specific regime
• Provides two systems depending on entity size: the Normal System and the Minimal Cash-Basis System (for small entities)
• Requires a bound and initialled Donors' Register, in which every donation or bequest received must be recorded and signed by the entity's officers (Art. 17 of SYCEBNL)
• Requires annual financial statements (balance sheet, income statement, cash-flow statement, notes) giving a true and fair view of the financial position
• Where a situation is not covered by SYCEBNL, reference is made to the general OHADA Accounting System (SYSCOHADA, revised 2017)
• According to Cameroon's Directorate General of Taxation, this accounting obligation is distinct from the tax regime: non-profit associations, NGOs and foundations remain exempt from tax on their non-profit activities, as SYCEBNL targets the reliability of financial information rather than taxation

6.2 Sector-Specific Obligations that Remain in Force

SYCEBNL technically frames the keeping of accounts, but the specific reporting obligations set by earlier Cameroonian laws remain applicable in parallel:

• Accredited NGOs (Law No. 99/014, Art. 12 and 15): internal and external audit of accounts, annual activity reports, submission to the Minister in charge of Territorial Administration within 60 days of closing the accounts
• Corporate foundations (Law No. 2003/013, Art. 23-24): mandatory appointment of at least one statutory auditor and one alternate; annual submission of an activity report together with the auditor's report to the administrative authority
• Ordinary associations: no specific accounting obligation under Law No. 90/053 (except for religious associations, Art. 26), but now subject to SYCEBNL as a non-profit entity

6.3 Cooperatives — A Separate Regime (SYSCOHADA, outside SYCEBNL)

Cooperative societies do not fall under SYCEBNL (which targets non-profit entities) but remain subject to the general OHADA accounting law (Uniform Act on Accounting Law and Financial Reporting / revised SYSCOHADA), consistent with the Uniform Act on Cooperative Societies:

• Annual summary financial statements (balance sheet, income statement, cash-flow statement, notes) under the Normal System or the Minimal Cash-Basis System
• Financial year coinciding with the calendar year; allocation of results per the bylaws and the Uniform Act

6.4 Tax Regime Common to Non-Profit Organisations

Under the General Tax Code (Art. 93 nonies bis), any non-profit organisation must register with the Directorate General of Taxation within 15 working days of starting its activities, file a Statistical and Tax Return before 15 March each year together with a detailed statement of sums paid to third parties, and keep separate accounts for the portion of its activities of a commercial nature, where applicable.

Form	Right	Legal basis and details
Ordinary association (declared, non-NGO)	NO	Cannot benefit from public grants, donations or bequests from individuals: reserved for accredited NGOs and associations recognised as being of public benefit.
Accredited NGO	YES	May receive donations and bequests, national/international funding, and public grants (MINAT authorisation required for real-estate donations/bequests). Law No. 99/014, Art. 17-1.
Corporate foundation	YES	May receive donations and bequests once it has legal personality (Art. 21-2), and public grants (Art. 20).
Foundation-association	NO (in principle)	Follows in principle the restrictive regime of the ordinary association, unless it obtains NGO accreditation.
Cooperative	Not expressly addressed	The OHADA Uniform Act neither restricts nor expressly organises the receipt of donations/grants. In practice, sector-specific public grants are common (MINADER, MINPMEESA).
Mutual society	Depends on the form chosen	Association: restrictive regime. Cooperative: non-restrictive regime above.

 

8.1 SEO Creation

• 3,909 SEOs created in 2024 nationwide, up from 3,865 in 2023 (slight increase)
• 2024 sectoral breakdown: primary sector 61.6%, secondary 25.2%, tertiary 13.2%
• 2024 breakdown by branch of activity: agriculture 48.0%, livestock 33.7%, other activities 10.9%, processing 3.5%, microfinance 2.3%, fishing 1.5%

Source: MINPMEESA, 2024 Statistical Yearbook on MSMEs, Chapter II and Tables 21-23.

8.2 Regional Distribution (2024)

Region	SEOs created	Share (%)
South	1,214	31.1
Centre	707	18.1
Littoral	465	11.9
North	422	10.8
East	289	7.4
West	258	6.6
Adamawa	254	6.5
South-West	172	4.4
Far North	66	1.7
North-West	62	1.6
National total	3,909	100

Source: MINPMEESA, 2024 Statistical Yearbook on MSMEs, Table 21.

8.3 Breakdown by Legal Form (2024)

Legal form	Number	Share (%)
Associations	1,379	35.3
GIC (Common Initiative Groups)	1,183	30.3
Cooperatives	1,090	27.9
Mutual societies	166	4.2
CDL	91	2.3
Total	3,909	100

Source: MINPMEESA, 2024 Statistical Yearbook on MSMEs, Table 25.

 

Note: the persistence of a "GIC" category in MINPMEESA's 2024 data appears in tension with the legal disappearance of Common Initiative Groups since the OHADA Uniform Act on cooperative societies took effect (GICs were in principle required to convert into cooperatives). This statistical category likely reflects structures still undergoing conversion or historically recorded under that label.

8.4 Networking, Participation and Funding

• 389 social economy networks in place in 2024: 326 RELESS, 54 REDESS, 9 RERESS
• 84 promotional events organised by MINPMEESA in 2024, with 2,174 SEOs participating
• 370 SEOs benefited from funds transferred to Decentralised Territorial Authorities (CTDs) in 2024, spread across 180 municipalities
• Performance of Programme 043 ("Promotion of entrepreneurship", Action 2 dedicated to the social economy): 88.0% technical achievement rate for the indicator on support for the creation of social economy units and enterprises in 2024

Source: MINPMEESA, 2024 Statistical Yearbook on MSMEs, Tables 24, 26, 27 and 51.

 

The entry into force of SYCEBNL and the sector's growing structuring (general register, networking) create a heightened need for professional support among Cameroonian SEOs. Chartered accountants can assist across several areas:

9.1 Diagnosis and Choice of Accounting Framework

• Identify the entity's exact status (association, NGO, foundation, cooperative, mutual society) and the applicable framework (SYCEBNL, or SYSCOHADA for cooperatives)
• Determine the accounting system suited to the entity's size: Normal System or Minimal Cash-Basis System

9.2 Setting Up and Keeping the Accounts

• Configure the SYCEBNL chart of accounts and migrate existing accounts to this new framework
• Set up and maintain the bound and initialled Donors' Register required by Article 17 of SYCEBNL
• Prepare annual financial statements (balance sheet, income statement, cash-flow statement, notes)
• Train officers and volunteer treasurers in accrual-basis accounting, often new to structures used to cash-basis bookkeeping

9.3 Audit and Certification of Accounts

• Serve as statutory auditor or alternate auditor, mandatory for corporate foundations (Law No. 2003/013, Art. 23)
• Carry out the external audit of annual accounts required for accredited NGOs (Law No. 99/014, Art. 12)
• Produce the audit reports accompanying the activity reports submitted to the administrative authority

9.4 Tax and Administrative Compliance

• Assist with registration with the Directorate General of Taxation (NIU) within 15 working days of starting activity
• Prepare the annual Statistical and Tax Return due before 15 March, with the detailed statement of sums paid to third parties
• Secure the accounting separation between exempt non-profit activities and any ancillary commercial activities
• Assist with registration in the General Register of Social Economy Units and affiliation with a network (RELESS)

9.5 Securing Funding and Governance

• Build transparent, compliant financial files to support grant or funding applications with national and international donors
• Document the traceability of donations and bequests received, a condition often set by donors and consistent with the SYCEBNL Donors' Register
• Advise on the most suitable legal structure (simple association, accredited NGO, corporate foundation) based on the entity's fundraising objectives
• Maintain regulatory watch over developments in SYCEBNL, sector-specific laws and the tax regime for non-profit organisations

• The direct download link for Order No. 042/PM of 23 May 2022 could not be confirmed with certainty.
• Obligations linked to that order remain partly inferred from secondary sources, to be confirmed once the full text is obtained.
• The exact scope of SYCEBNL as applied to economically-oriented cooperatives (as opposed to associations/NGOs/foundations/mutual societies) deserves confirmation.

 

Full list of legal texts and documentary sources used in preparing this summary.

Social Economy Framework Law Texts

🔗 Law No. 2019/004 of 25 April 2019 — Presidency of the Republic (official page)

🔗 Law No. 2019/004 of 25 April 2019 — Direct PDF (MINPMEESA)

🔗 Decree No. 2020/0001/PM of 3 January 2020 — Direct PDF (socioeco.org)

🔗 Order No. 042/PM of 23 May 2022 — MINPMEESA article referencing it (order's PDF not located with certainty)

Texts on Legal Forms (Association, NGO, Foundation, Cooperative)

🔗 Law No. 90/053 of 19 December 1990 on freedom of association

🔗 Law No. 99/014 of 22 December 1999 governing Non-Governmental Organisations

🔗 Law No. 2003/013 of 22 December 2003 on patronage and sponsorship (corporate foundations)

🔗 OHADA Uniform Act on Cooperative Societies (15 Dec. 2010)

Accounting and Tax Texts

🔗 OHADA Uniform Act on the Accounting System for Non-Profit Entities — SYCEBNL (adopted Dec. 2022, in force since 1 January 2024)

🔗 OHADA Uniform Act on Accounting Law and Financial Reporting (AUDCIF / SYSCOHADA)

🔗 Tax regime for non-profit organisations — Cameroon Directorate General of Taxation

Statistical Data

🔗 MINPMEESA — 2024 Statistical Yearbook on MSMEs (14th edition, May 2025)