Cameroon, heart of Central Africa

I recently returned from an exciting week in #Cameroon with Sergio Pimenta , Charlotte Ndaw Sako , Dan Croft , Yosuke (Yo) Kotsuji , and other colleagues, where we visited clients, toured projects, and engaged with government officials and private sector leaders during our first Cameroon IFC Day to discuss ways of increasing private sector growth in the country.

IFC Africa has been ramping up and diversifying its investment and engagement in Cameroon, a key economy in Central Africa. Over the past five years, our work has supported the country's energy, infrastructure, access to finance, manufacturing, agribusiness, and digital sectors.

With the country's wealth of opportunities, IFC seeks to increase its operations to help unleash the full potential of private sector-driven growth that could help Cameroon fulfill its promise.

In Douala, the country's economic heartbeat, we visited BOCOM International and Activa Assurances RDC , two leading local energy and insurance companies. These two important clients are making a difference in providing clean cooking fuel and tailored insurance solutions for underserved individuals, including low-income women.

We also had the privilege of hosting leading women business leaders in a special luncheon where we learned more about the challenges facing women entrepreneurs and what it takes for them to capture opportunities to further contribute to the economy such as capacity building and access to finance. We highlighted ways IFC could support further through advisory work, partnerships with fintech, and local financing solutions. Accounting for 38% of the country's GDP, MSMEs, particularly women-led, are the Cameroon economy's lifeblood.

The main highlight of the visit was the #IFCDay – our maiden in Central Africa. Discussions at the event focused on IFC's investment and advisory services and how we can do more to support the country's National Development Strategy 2021-2030 with key sectors such as digital, agribusiness, and infrastructure.

Attended by H.E Achille Bassilekin III, Minister of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicrafts, and more than 80 business leaders, the candid exchanges provided a great opportunity to understand better the challenges facing private sector players, including MSME financing needs, and the opportunities for IFC to help the country transform its economy.

Participants highlighted the critical role of private finance in filling essential infrastructure needs in energy and transport, the need for better alignment of market incentives, and reducing the presence of the state to help crowd in private investment to expand various value chains in the agriculture sector; and how unlocking opportunities for PPPs could help realize significant gains in the digital economy for Cameroon.

In Yaounde, we engaged with H.E JOSEPH NGUTE DION , Prime Minister; H.E Alamine Ousmane Mey , Minister of Economy; and H.E @Gaston Eloundou Essomba, Minister of Water and Energy, to reiterate our commitment to deepen and diversify our portfolio in the country.

We also had the opportunity to visit the IFC-supported NACHTIGAL HYDRO POWER COMPANY . Soon to be inaugurated, this impressive hydroelectric plant will help increase power generation by 30%. With the surge in electricity demand, this game-changing infrastructure will help provide much-needed green and reliable access to power to individuals and businesses in Cameroon. I look forward to the start of operations later this year.

Following this visit and the #IFCDay, we look forward to building further long-term partnerships across all sectors of the economy to scale up development impact and deliver tangible results for Cameroonians. IFC is committed to furthering its efforts in Cameroon, with a robust pipeline of projects currently totaling over US$ 248 million. These projects span various sectors, including infrastructure (with a particular focus on energy), agribusiness, manufacturing, and financial services.

A big thanks to Charlotte Ndaw Sako and our team in Cameroon for an impactful visit

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