(Business in Cameroon) – The president of the Cameroon National Shippers’ Council (CNCC), Auguste Mbappépenda, has announced that a delegation of investors from the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC) is expected to visit Cameroon in February 2026. He was speaking on 5 December 2025 in Yaounde, during the second edition of the Investors Dinner organised by the Investment Promotion Agency (IPA).
The event was held under the theme: “Increasing the contribution of the private sector to the National Gross Domestic Product”, and brought together senior government officials, business leaders, international development actors and institutional heads for discussions on reforms, investment incentives and the business environment.
Speaking to the press after the event, Mbappépenda stated, “I take this opportunity to tell you that in February 2026, Lord Marland, who is the Chairman of CWEIC, will be here in Cameroon with around one hundred investors who are members of the Commonwealth.”
Mbappépenda explained that CNCC attended the dinner because its mission includes promoting Cameroon’s external trade. He further revealed that, through a decree, the Head of State had transformed the Council into a public-capital company. This change broadens its scope and helps conceptualise a multi-modal national shippers’ council.
“Today, we are in all areas: maritime, air, railway, and road. So, we will work hand in hand with IPA to promote the development of our country,” he said. According to him, the proposed 2026 visit by the Commonwealth investors is part of “all these actions that contribute to the promotion of trade across the country.”
Mbappépenda also recalled that the Council, as a member of CWEIC, has for many years collaborated with the Investment Promotion Agency to foster external trade and attract foreign investment. He said the dinner provided a valuable opportunity for the government, the private sector and investors to meet and discuss what can be done together.
In his keynote address at the same event, the interim Director General of IPA, Boma Donatus, used the platform to highlight the Agency’s mandate to improve Cameroon’s business environment and support dialogue between the administration and investors. He explained that the Agency gathers concerns from business operators and submits them to higher authorities, noting that several recommendations from the previous year had already informed national reforms. He revealed that the 2025 investment incentive law was enacted in response to key obstacles flagged by businesses. “Government has the strong will to go ahead and carry out all the reforms that are necessary within this field,” Boma Donatus stated.
The reform in question is set out in Ordinance No. 2025/002, signed by the President on 18 July 2025. This new regime replaces broad, automatic tax and customs exemptions with a performance-based system that ties benefits to measurable economic outcomes such as job creation, local raw-material sourcing, value addition and export growth. Eligible sectors now include agro-industry, energy, manufacturing, health, education, digital infrastructure, transport and large-scale distribution, excluding petroleum, mining and general commerce.
Between 2013 and 2025, under the previous law, Cameroon signed 424 investment agreements that reportedly mobilised FCFA 7,504 billion and created over 168,000 jobs. The expected 2026 visit of Commonwealth investors under CWEIC thus comes at a time when Cameroon is repositioning its investment framework, improving institutional coordination and seeking to expand its international economic partnerships.
Mercy Fosoh
