Viable Investments : Amplifying Attractive Measures!

Information disclosed recently by officials of Cameroon’s Investment Promotion Agency, after a survey carried out between January 1, 2014 and March 31, 2024, that close to FCFA 2,000 billion was invested in the country between 2014-2024 and some 16,000 jobs created thanks to existing legislation on private investment incentives raised mixed feelings. Critics feel that attracting investments worth that amount in ten years is largely insufficient, judging from the depth of the country’s potentials in sectors which could fetch better joint ventures for winwin gain. More so with huge delegations of potential investors that regularly visit the country to prospect on sectors of investments, some of whom even sign Memorandums of Understanding. It is said that as per the Law of April 18, 2013 establishing private investment incentives in Cameroon, some 462 agreements were signed between January 2014 to July 2025 for a projected investment of nearly FCFA 15 trillion and almost 200,000 projected jobs. Going by reports on the recent survey, the 158 approved companies on whom the study was carried out were projected to pump in about FCFA 2.744 trillion and generate over 72,000 jobs for the public. From simple observation, the outcomes presented are below average. However, officials of the Investment Promotion Agency say investment is a continuous process which begins with the initial feasibility studies and only ends when the company ceases to exist. It is on this basis that they see the recently published results as a remarkable achievement. Understandably so as the Agency works tooth and nail to attract investors and strive to ensure they comply with the rules in place and benefit from the provisions of existing legislation, notably the July 18, 2025 Ordinance, which sets out the incentives for investment in the Republic of Cameroon. For example, the Acting General Manager has signed a decision specifying the required documentation for the approval application. This obliges companies to submit, in advance, a complete feasibility study of the project, indicating in particular the total amount and, most importantly, the year-by-year investment programme. The Agency also requires any company applying for approval to submit, among other things, an economic and financial study indicating the anticipated operating account over five years and a financing plan accompanied by either a certificate of financing capacity, a loan or financing agreement, or proof of fundraising initiated on the financial market. This is working to fulfill its missions. But sustainable investments, notably direct foreign investments, comprises many interwoven preconditions which must be handled wholly by all the stakeholders. Experts hold that attracting viable investments, like what Cameroon is struggling to do so as to realise its middleincome economy dream, requires a stable, transparent and welcoming environment. This is manifested through political stability, rule of law and a robust economic framework that guarantees the fruition of investments. It couldn’t have been otherwise given that investors are not philanthropists and only “risks” their hard-earned money where there are prospects that they can minimise risks and make returns. This is the goal of any trade venture and all must therefore be done to ascertain that the partnership between the investor and the country in which he or she chooses to invest lives up to mutuallybeneficial business policy. Cameroon, no doubt, boasts of natural resources of all sorts but having investors who can transform the potentials into development tools goes beyond attractiveness and even legislation. General knowledge teaches that low corruption, a skilled workforce, modern infrastructure, competitive tax incentives and minimal bureaucratic barriers are key conditions which cannot be ignored. They are yardsticks for a country’s business environment and potential investors always look up to these factors through different Doing Business reports. These are areas in which the powers that be must thus redouble efforts, else the drive to bring in as many investors as possible to set ...