The Government of Cameroon has secured 51.8 billion FCFA in financing to modernise key industrial facilities of the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC), following the signing of two loan agreements between the government and Standard Chartered Bank.
The agreements were signed in Yaounde by the Minister of Economy, Planning and Regional Development, MINEPAT, Alamine Ousmane Mey, and Nkposong Asuquo, Director for African Markets at Standard Chartered Bank. The financing will support the supply and installation of modern palm oil, margarine and rubber processing plants for CDC.
The total financing includes a buyer’s credit of €71.7 million, about FCFA 47.0 billion, backed by French public investment bank BPI France, and a commercial credit of €7.1 million, about FCFA 4.7 billion arranged by Standard Chartered Bank London.
The project is scheduled for completion over 25 months with Tylium as the executing contractor, the Ministry of Agriculture (MINADER) as project supervisor and CDC as the delegated implementing agency. It is designed to strengthen the import-substitution policy by increasing local value-addition to CDC’s agricultural output and reduce reliance on imported processed goods.
According to MINEPAT, the investment forms part of the country’s National Development Strategy, NDS30 and government efforts to promote agro-industrial transformation. The objectives include local valorisation of CDC’s agricultural output, the creation of thousands of direct and indirect jobs, a reduction in reliance on imports, and the stimulation of growth in the South-West Region. The ministry furthered that the new facilities would enhance value addition to CDC’s production and support employment along the agricultural value chain.
CDC performance amid ongoing challenges
The CDC, Cameroon’s largest state-owned agribusiness, has faced challenges in recent years. According to figures from the Cameroon Banana Association (ASSOBACAM), CDC exported 23,416 tonnes of bananas in the first seven months of 2025, less than half the volumes shipped in 2015 before the onset of separatist unrest in the South-West and North-West regions. In April 2025, however, CDC recorded a rebound, exporting 10,400 tonnes of bananas in the first quarter, its highest quarterly volume in seven years.
According to Business in Cameroon, CDC recorded a net profit of FCFA 45.4 billion in 2024, largely due to the cancellation of about FCFA 59 billion in tax and social security arrears by the State, while its turnover rose to FCFA 23 billion, up from FCFA 20 billion in 2023. The publication notes that the profit was driven by debt relief rather than a full recovery in operating performance.
The government has also supported CDC through the settlement of salary arrears owed to CDC staff. By mid-September 2025, 15.7 billion FCFA had been paid to nearly 20,000 employees as part of a broader effort to address accumulated social debt from 2018 to 2022. It followed an earlier disbursement of FCFA 20 billion in December 2024 to settle a debt estimated at FCFA 35.75 billion.
According to the government, the CDC’s recovery from losses and workforce contraction following years of sociopolitical disruptions remains a key economic priority. The injection of FCFA 51.8 billion for industrial modernisation is positioned as part of broader efforts to strengthen productivity, support rural economies linked to CDC operations and enhance the Corporation’s contribution to Cameroon’s economic development.
Mercy Fosoh
