ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors focus on some of the institutional barriers that local businesses and multinational enterprises (MNE) face as they contemplate a business presence at the base of the pyramid. They identify strategies that firms can adopt in order to overcome institutional barriers and mitigate some of the risks. Through no fault of their own, those who are the poorest of the poor in Cameroon are not prime candidates for partnerships with MNEs, but instead they are trapped by the risks inherent in establishing and sustaining those partnerships, risks over which they have little control. By paying government employees so poorly and tolerating corruption at every level, Cameroon’s top government officials make it unlikely that their poorest citizens will in the foreseeable future enjoy the relief promised by profitable partnerships. Inflation is an unfortunate side effect of emerging economies and constitutes the second institutional barrier to business development and efficient market transactions in those environments.
