Country Profile: Cameroon

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About

Cameroon is located at the heart of Central Africa, near some of the most fast-growing economies including Nigeria and Chad. Its ethnically diverse population is among the most urban, thanks to the governmental efforts in economic diversification, from the basic educational facilities, farm production, selective industrialization, to rural development. Cameroon is endowed with rich natural resources, boosting an economy featuring oil and gas, timber, aluminum, agriculture, mining and more. Recent years, private enterprise and free trade have become the dominant trends, and are widely accepted across regional cross-border businesses in the CEMAC region.

Factsheet

Opportunities

Cameroon is often known as "Africa in miniature" because of its geographical and cultural diversity. The country is endowed with abundant mineral wealth; besides oil and gas, minerals that are found in the country include aluminum, bauxite, cobalt, diamonds, gold, and iron ore. With the raise of transport infrastructure development, investor interest in these commodities has been aroused. Railroads are under active construction to bridge natural resources to ports, enhancing the new workforce and mobility in the mining sector. Meanwhile, to address electricity grid connectivity in rural areas, the country has commissioned hydro and thermal power stations to increase power supply.

Riding on the success of traditional exporting products such as crude oil and liquefied natural gas, the business environment has been transformed from national development and big enterprises to private freedom. As a member of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), more business investment activities are happening across Francophone countries in CEMAC and beyond. The regulation on equity participation is also foreigner-friendly, allowing any non-native entrepreneurs to own 100% of their firms operating in Cameroon.

Strengths

Reasons to invest