Cameroon has opened a new investment promotion platform in the East Region, bringing together investors and delegations from Turkey, China, India and several Central African countries as the government seeks to channel more productive investment beyond the country’s main economic centers.
The first Bagofit International Business Week 2026 was launched in Bagofit, Abong-Mbang subdivision, by Trade Minister Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana. The event combines the Bagofit International Fair and the East Investment Forum, which authorities are using to showcase investment opportunities in the region and connect potential investors with local economic actors.
Opening the event, Mbarga Atangana presented the East Region as part of Cameroon’s broader investment proposition. He cited the country’s agro-ecological diversity and access to regional and international markets among the factors available to investors. The minister said Cameroon’s five agro-ecological zones provide opportunities across several productive sectors.
“Cameroon is clearly a land of opportunities, with its five agro-ecological zones brought together within a single territory,” Mbarga Atangana said. He added that the East Region “opens its arms wide to national and foreign investors.”
The East Region offers investment potential across forestry, agriculture and mining. Recent investment activity also shows growing interest in developing value chains around some of these resources.
In December 2025, WWF Cameroon launched a FCFA1.3 billion sustainable cocoa project in Bertoua, financed by cocoa group Barry Callebaut. The five-year program covers 31,000 hectares in the Boumba and Ngoko division and involves cocoa-producing cooperatives and community forests.
The cocoa sector is also providing income incentives for producers in other parts of the region. In September 2025, the National Cocoa and Coffee Board distributed FCFA17.81 million in quality premiums to 540 cocoa farmers in the Lom and Djerem and Kadey divisions.
Beyond the region’s natural resources, authorities are presenting Cameroon’s access to larger markets as part of the investment offer. Mbarga Atangana highlighted the country’s participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA, which provides a framework for progressively expanding intra-African trade.
He also cited Cameroon’s trade arrangements with the European Union and the United Kingdom. The government is presenting these agreements, alongside the country’s position within Central Africa, as part of the market-access proposition for businesses establishing production operations in Cameroon.
The Bagofit initiative adds a regional platform to the country’s investment promotion drive. Its East Investment Forum is intended to connect economic opportunities in the region with domestic and foreign capital. The accompanying international fair provides businesses with a platform to exhibit products, establish commercial contacts and explore partnerships.
Trade Minister Mbarga Atangana said the initiative could be replicated in other parts of the country as part of efforts to extend economic and investment promotion activities beyond the major urban centers.
Mercy Fosoh
