The Investment Promotion Agency has signed five investment conventions with Cameroonian-owned enterprises across key sectors of the economy. The agreements were concluded on 19 February in Yaounde between IPA interim General Manager Boma Donatus and project promoters.
The projects cut across wood processing, hospitality, manufacturing and cement production, reflecting what officials described as a diversification drive anchored on local investors. Combined, the ventures are expected to generate more than 2,000 direct jobs, with additional indirect employment projected around major industrial sites. The combined investment value of the projects exceeds 107 billion FCFA, with the deals covering both new conventions and an amendment to an existing agreement.
The five parties to the agreements are La Société Micasa By MCG Sarl, operating in wood transformation and manufacturing with an investment of 2.6 billion FCFA and 450 jobs projected; ETS Befidi & Fils in hospitality, committing 4 billion FCFA and 300 jobs; La Société Générale des Travaux du Cameroun in manufacturing, with 1 billion FCFA and 200 jobs; Sphinx Resort Palace in tourism and leisure, with a flagship investment of 100 billion FCFA targeting 1,000 jobs; and the Société de Ciment du Cameroun, which signed an amendment to an existing convention covering a cement plant investment of over 54 billion FCFA expected to generate more than 500 direct jobs and upwards of 3,000 direct and indirect positions.
IPA General Manager urges citizens to invest at home
Speaking at the signing ceremony, IPA General Manager Boma Donatus said the conventions were purely Cameroonian and demonstrated growing confidence among national investors.
“I am always pleased when I see Cameroonians who have confidence in their country, who invest in their country and who do everything to make things work,” he said.
He stressed that domestic investors serve as ambassadors for the country’s investment climate. “You are the first ambassadors of investment promotion when you invest at home,” he said, adding that foreign investors would question why they should commit capital if nationals themselves lacked confidence. According to him, the agency treats local investment with the same seriousness as foreign direct investment, as both contribute to resilience and economic transformation.
Boma highlighted that the projects span strategic sectors including hotel infrastructure, timber transformation, cement production and industrial manufacturing. He said the use of local raw materials and the promotion of import substitution were central to current policy. Referring to wood processing, he noted that Cameroon should export finished products rather than raw timber. “Tomorrow we should be meeting around conference tables made in Cameroon by Cameroonians,” he said.
10-Day investment approvals and a new one-stop window
The General Manager also announced that the IPA would shortly introduce a one-stop window for investors, to be followed by a virtual equivalent enabling applicants based abroad to submit requests online and receive their accreditation within ten days. According to Boma, it is a strong signal that Cameroon is ready to do business. He added that failures to meet the ten-day target would be subject to formal accountability measures, describing the shift as part of a broader push for transparency in the investment sector. He also drew attention to a 2025 presidential ordinance enabling municipal councils to undertake their own investment projects and benefit from the same incentives available to private enterprises.
Investors speak
The Director General of Sphinx Resort Palace, Ngono Onana, said the project was born out of personal frustration at the lack of adequate accommodation while conducting business in southern Cameroon. The chain’s first four-star hotel, an 82-room property in Sangmélima, is due to open in May or June this year, with further hotels planned for Yaounde’s Efoulan district, Ebolowa and Bafang. He said the IPA convention would provide customs duty exemptions for five years during the installation phase and a further five years during operations, as well as VAT recovery rights.
Georges Wilson, Vice-President of Atlantic Group, which is developing the Société de Ciment du Cameroun plant, said the amended convention reflected an upgrade in production technology that had raised the project’s cost. The facility, with a planned capacity of one million tonnes, is expected to be operational within 24 months, with equipment importation benefiting from customs and VAT exemptions during the investment and operational phases.
Léonie Ella, General Manager of La Société Micasa By MCG Sarl, described her wood-to-furniture manufacturing project as both an industrial undertaking and a personal mission. Based in Douala and already operating across three Cameroonian cities, the company plans to establish a modern industrial unit producing kitchens, doors and office furniture. She said the first phase would create 350 direct jobs, scaling to more than 1,000, with an emphasis on training a skilled local workforce and ending what she described as the import of poor-quality furniture.
Mercy Fosoh
