(Business in Cameroon) – CEMAC’s Carte Rose cross‑border car insurance services now have a new home in Douala, with the unveiling of a 2 billion FCFA headquarters designed to fast-track vehicle circulation and accident settlements across the Central Africa subregion. The four-storey edifice, now standing in Douala, is expected to ease the movement of insured vehicles across Central Africa and accelerate the settlement of cross-border accident claims, a mechanism seen as vital for regional trade and transport flows.
The Minister of Finance presided over the inauguration in Douala on December 3, 2025. He was joined by regional authorities and leaders from the insurance sector. The new structure, built on a 450-square-metre surface area in line with international standards, will serve as the operational base for the Carte Rose system in Cameroon.
Established in 1996 by CEMAC heads of state, the Carte Rose allows a vehicle insured in its country of origin to circulate across all six member states without taking out additional insurance in each territory. The system enables a single attestation to cover motorists throughout the community space, simplifying transport logistics for traders, travellers and logistics operators.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motaze, said the building would serve as “a centre of trust, an institutional refuge for victims, and an operational platform for our partners, and an instrument of national integration”. He noted that the Carte Rose was not limited to an insurance management role but represented “the legal expression of the political will” of Central African leaders to guarantee the free circulation of people and goods. He recalled that Cameroon created its national bureau on 3 May 1999 with an initial public guarantee of 20 million CFA francs to support its launch and protect users.
According to Pierre Didier Ngoumou, Permanent Secretary of the Carte Rose CEMAC, the mechanism facilitates indemnity payments when accidents involve vehicles insured in different member states. “The cost is FCFA 1,000 a year, and it allows you anytime, anywhere, to drive outside of your country within the CEMAC zone,” he said. The national bureaus in each state serve as a single interlocutor for victims, insured parties, and foreign insurance companies, ensuring the fluidity of accident settlement procedures across borders.
Created to reinforce economic integration, the Carte Rose system plays a central role in supporting mobility, cross-border transport and intra-regional commerce and with its new headquarters in Douala, Cameroon, positions the national office as a strengthened operational hub for the sub-region, aligning with CEMAC’s broader objective of fostering a more integrated and secure economic space.
Mercy Fosoh
