Magister Legum - LLM / Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) began as a worldwide phenomenon in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Even then, it formed only a small portion of foreign investments for decades, as a greater percentage took the form of portfolio investments. This was the case for example in 1914, when 90% of all foreign investment flows took the form of portfolio investment. Over time, however, there was a steady shift in the composition of foreign investments. In fact, about a quarter of foreign investment flows took the form of FDI in the 1920s. The drop in portfolio investments came about as a result of the collapse of the world monetary system in the 1930s, provoked by World War 1 and the Great Depression. There was, however, a general drop in the two types of investment during the interwar years. Unlike portfolio investment, FDI proved amazingly resilient and gradually recovered in the late 1930s. FDI again improved with the end of the Second World War, and became even more prominent after the 1960s in developing countries. This was not the case, however, which was yet to have its share of FDI flow. The main focus of this study is to investigate why Cameroon lags behind other developing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in terms of attracting FDI in spite of its membership of, and participation in, bilateral, regional and multilateral trade and investment treaties, and its attractive investment policies. The above argument applies explicitly to FDI because Regional Integration Agreements (RIAs) are said to boost FDI inflows from non-member countries. It is universally acknowledged that a well-designed policy framework for investment, capable of attracting FDI, would be productive and successful. Thus, for Cameroon to be competitive in attracting FDI, it is obliged to review its investment policies which continue to face the challenges of a changing global economy.

Le cadre légal des affaires en Haïti et, plus particulièrement, le Code des investissements de 2002 ne sont ni en mesure d’attirer les investissements directs étrangers, ni n’arrivent à faciliter la réalisation des activités entrepreneuriales. Ce cadre légal n’est pas adapté à la situation particulière des jeunes entrepreneur.e.s en Haïti ni à celle des entrepreneur.e.s de la diaspora intéressé.e.s à entreprendre des affaires dans leur pays d’origine. Certaines initiatives de l’État haïtien pour promouvoir les activités entrepreneuriales au pays, encourager les jeunes à se lancer en affaires ou convaincre la diaspora et les étranger.ère.s à venir investir dans le pays, ne produisent pas de résultats satisfaisants. Il y a lieu de questionner les obstacles qui empêchent le climat des affaires haïtien d’être attractif et compétitif. De tels obstacles sont d’ordre à la fois politique, financier, administratif, structurel et légal. Ceux liés au cadre légal en vigueur et aux démarches administratives pour réaliser les activités entrepreneuriales ont fait l’objet, dans le cadre de ce mémoire, d’une analyse particulière. Cette dernière a permis de mettre en exergue les lourdeurs administratives, la difficulté de trouver du financement et l’absence de définition du statut « d’entrepreneur.e » et d’un encadrement des activités entrepreneuriales proprement dites. Le cadre légal des affaires en vigueur, se limitant au droit commercial traditionnel, mérite d’être mis à jour afin d’être adapté aux particularités des jeunes entrepreneur.e.s. D’où la formulation, dans ce mémoire, d’un ensemble de propositions qui prennent en compte, d’une part, les différents obstacles qui compliquent la réalisation d’activités entrepreneuriales en Haïti et, d’autre part, les particularités des jeunes entrepreneur.e.s ou de l’entrepreneuriat jeunesse. / The legal framework for business in Haiti and, in particular, the 2002 Investment Code are neither able to attract foreign direct investment nor facilitate entrepreneurial activities. This legal framework is not adapted to the particular situation of young entrepreneurs in Haiti or to that of entrepreneurs from the diaspora interested in doing business in their home country. Some Haitian government initiatives to promote entrepreneurial activities in the country, encourage young people to start a business or convince the diaspora and foreigners to invest in the country are not producing satisfactory results. There is a need to question the obstacles that prevent the Haitian business climate from being attractive and competitive. Such obstacles are political, financial, administrative, structural and legal. Those related to the legal framework in force and the administrative procedures for carrying out entrepreneurial activities have been the subject of a particular analysis in the context of this brief. This analysis has made it possible to highlight the administrative burden, the difficulty in finding financing and the lack of definition of the status of “entrepreneur” and the lack of a framework for entrepreneurial activities as such. The current legal framework for business, limited to traditional commercial law, needs to be updated in order to be adapted to the particularities of young entrepreneurs. Hence the formulation, in this brief, of a set of proposals that take into account, on the one hand, the various obstacles that complicate the realization of entrepreneurial activities in Haiti and, on the other hand, the particularities of young entrepreneurs or youth entrepreneurship.