Douala: 4th edition of Cameroon Investment Forum to kick-off April 17.

The Acting General Manager of the Investment Promotion Agency, Boma Donatus, made the announcement Friday February 16. 

This was during a press briefing at the institution’s head office in the capital city, Yaounde. The forum is placed under the distinguished patronage of the Head of State, Paul Biya.

It will hold under the theme: “Attracting productive investment in the agricultural and fisheries value chains to intensify the import-substitution drive in Cameroon: Focus on the rice, maize, fish, milk and oil palm sectors”.

The first edition of the Cameroon Investment Forum, it should be recalled, was first organised by IPA in 2015. 

The event which occurs every two years, the Acting General Manager of IPA said, serves as a platform for investors and project promoters to interact and discuss business opportunities. 

He said after two consecutive editions in 2017 and 2019, the event witnessed a halt as a result of the outbreak of global health crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic.

Boma told reporters that the Cameroon Investment Forum “is a meeting place for opportunities and an excellent option for local and foreign investors, financial, economic, and banking institution leaders, government authorities, and development partners to share insights and experiences”. 

He said it “strives to identify business opportunities, enhance Cameroon's ability as an investment destination, and attract productive investments to the country”.

The forum, he said, shall also be an opportunity for investment stakeholders to organise sideline activities like trade missions and conferences.

Context of CIF 2023 

Aside holding in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and an environment characterised by exogenous and endogenous crises, Boma said CIF 2023 will take place at a time when the government has adopted the National Development Strategy, NDS 2020-2030.

Through the strategy, Boma said government has expressed its strong desire to transform the economy and achieve endogenous, inclusive, and sustainable development to make Cameroon a Newly Industrialised Country. 

He mentioned the import substitution strategy undertaken by the government among its economic restructuring drive, aimed at increasing domestic value added by promoting local production and processing of raw materials.

This, Boma said, will reduce the trade deficit burdened by expensive imports, particularly in the consumer food products sector. 

Boma disclosed that in 2019, food imports totalled more than 807 billion FCFA, up 14.9% from 2018, and amounted for almost 20% of Cameroon's total imports. 

“These food imports consist mainly of rice, fish, wheat, maize and milk powder,” he disclosed. 

IPA fostering debate on import substitution

Boma told reporters that since 2017, the IPA has been instrumental in fostering public debate on implementing government’s import substitution policy. 

He said it is on this that in 2019, the 3rd edition of the Cameroon Investment Forum focused on the theme: "Industrialisation through import substitution".

Thematic panel discussion during the 3rd edition of the forum, he noted, highlighted the major investment sectors in the country, with emphasis on rice, maize, and aquaculture sectors.

Such discussions, he said, will be continued in the 4th edition, with the introduction of two new sectors viz milk and oil palm. 

“Its primary objective is to attract direct investments towards development projects in critical areas of the value chains of the rice, maize, fish, milk, and palm oil sectors, with the ultimate goal of reducing Cameroon's trade deficit,” Boma stated. 

About CIF 2023 

The three-day forum, Boma told reporters, will comprise seven major activities. He said it will include a solemn opening ceremony, a key note address from an internationally renowned personality followed by a ministerial-level panel discussion on the central theme. 

Boma said the forum will also feature five thematic salons relating to the rice, maize, fish, milk, and palm oil sectors.  

He also mentioned the Investment Market which is a platform that connects promoters of investment projects with financiers and technical partners in view of contributing to a significant increase of the volume of project financing. 

Boma said the forum will also include exhibition with “Sector Desks” of administrations and other structures working directly or indirectly to promote and attract investment to Cameroon as well as business meetings and a gala night dubbed "Investors Night".

The aforementioned activities, he said, take place on the event site, except for the Investment Market, IM, “which will be hybrid, following arrangements to be specified in due course”. 

IPA’s strides recorded through forum 

The Acting General Manager disclosed that since 2017, the IPA has identified 52 agropastoral projects for the investment market. 

He said after an intensive screening process, 24 projects were preselected, out of which 17 bankable projects worth 13.7 billion FCFA were identified and selected for financing. The 17 projects, he further detailed, require a total funding of 8.9 billion FCFA. 

“We plan to continue this process during the 4th session and mobilise quality and alternative financing partners who can provide the necessary funding for these projects,” Boma stated. 

Expected outcome of CIF 2023

Boma said participants will at the end of the forum, “have a holistic and relevant understanding of the country's investment environment, the target sectors as a whole, and the investment niches or opportunities found in the critical segments of their value chains”.

The forum, he added, also intends to “establish multifaceted partnerships between promoters of investment projects in the targeted sectors with financiers and technical partners”. 

He concluded by appealing for the support of the media, in ensuring relay of the message to both local and international potential investors to put Cameroon on their investment roadmap so that Cameroon as an investment destination becomes better known through the forum.