(Business in Cameroon) – Cameroon’s government has tightened its grip on Sodecoton by purchasing the 30% stake previously held by France’s Geocoton for CFA46 billion. The acquisition pushes the State’s ownership in the agro-industrial firm from 59% to 89%, according to official budget documents.
The transaction leaves 11% of the company in the hands of SMIC, owned by Cameroonian billionaire Baba Danpullo.
The Ministry of Finance disclosed the deal in its 2026–2028 Medium-Term Economic and Budgetary Programming Document, revealing that the State plans to finance the purchase through a revised investment budget. The upcoming supplementary finance bill, to be submitted to the National Assembly, will propose raising the “investment expenditures from own resources” allocation from CFA891.8 billion to CFA945.8 billion.
The Finance Ministry explained the CFA54 billion increase includes both the CFA46 billion used for the Sodecoton acquisition and CFA33 billion for urban road rehabilitation.
Sodecoton, which supports more than 200,000 cotton farmers in northern Cameroon, has rebounded strongly from a major financial crisis. After posting cumulative losses of over CFA30 billion between 2014 and 2016, the company returned to profitability under a restructuring plan launched in 2017.
Today, Sodecoton ranks among the country’s top four highest-revenue companies, trailing only the National Hydrocarbons Company (SNH), its downstream affiliate Tradex, and Congelcam, Cameroon’s largest fishery firm. The 2022 ranking by the National Institute of Statistics (INS) confirmed the company’s recovery and its strategic value.
However, the government’s dominance in Sodecoton may not last. In August 2022, authorities selected the company—alongside three other public or mixed-capital firms—for a partial listing on the Central African Stock Exchange (BVMAC), based in Douala. The plan aims to inject dynamism into the regional financial market and attract private investment.
This article was initially published in French by Brice R. Mbodiam
Edited in English by Ange Jason Quenum
