(Business in Cameroon) – Cameroon’s Ministry of Communication (Mincom) has launched a new initiative to measure and structure the country’s advertising market. According to official sources, the ministry issued a restricted national tender, under an emergency procedure, to recruit a consulting firm or consortium to evaluate the sector’s economic importance.
Funded through the Public Investment Budget (BIP) of the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Land Management (Minepat) for the 2025–2026 period, the project seeks to provide authorities with a reliable, data-driven decision-making tool. The study will assess the market’s overall size, its contribution to business activity, and its role in financing national media.
It will involve mapping all sector stakeholders, including advertising agencies, media buyers, and consulting firms, and analyzing advertising spending by government entities, local authorities, and state-owned enterprises. The study will also examine how investments are distributed between domestic and international markets and across different media platforms. The final report is expected to include recommendations for a more efficient organization of the market to strengthen media financing.
Beyond diagnosis, the initiative aims to reorganize a fragmented sector and turn it into a sustainable driver of media funding. It also seeks to bring greater transparency to a market still characterized by informal practices and structural imbalances.
Following the call for expressions of interest, three firms were prequalified: Polygone SARL, ranked first with a score of 94/100, followed by the Daredab–Fiscagest consortium (76.5/100) and Knowledge Consulting (75.5/100). The final selection will be made in the coming weeks after technical and financial evaluations.
In a context where many Cameroonian media outlets struggle to remain financially viable, the Communication Ministry hopes this study will help structure the advertising market and clarify financial flows. The goal is to transform advertising from a simple commercial communication tool into a key economic engine supporting both the media industry and national growth.
