At roadshows during SAGO: API links Cameroonian businesspersons with Emirati, Indian…investors.

This was during three onsite and virtual roadshows the IPA organised on the sidelines of the just ended 13th edition of the Government Action Fair, SAGO.

The first IPA roadshow was focused on briefing participating entrepreneurs on the benefits of the UAE-Africa Gateway.

Speaking at the event, the Acting General Manager of the Investment Promotion Agency, Boma Donatus, explained that the event was a follow up of promotional activities the institution carried out in Qatar and Dubai during the World Cup that have mapped Cameroon as a destination for Emirati investments. 

He said it was thanks to the success of the promotional activities that the UAE Ministry of Economy, in partnership with UAE Trade Connect, launched a pilot programme called UAE-Africa Gateway.

The UAE-Africa Gateway initiative, he explained, is designed to open doors for UAE-based companies to invest in 15 targeted Sub-Saharan countries, enabling 100 UAE companies to establish a presence in sub-Saharan Africa by the end of 2024. 

Boma said as one of the target countries, Cameroon stands to receive significant investments from the Emirates, in many sectors, including energy, oil filed, pharmaceuticals, construction, textile, agriculture, agroindustry, energy, manufacturing, aviation, transport, logistics, education, training, water, sanitation, and infrastructure, promising substantial benefits for the country.

He said it is in a bid to attract these major investments to Cameroon that IPA staged the roadshow at SAGO to ensure that promoters of bankable projects in take advantage of the lucrative initiative. 

“We have been working constantly with these people towards getting Cameroon as an investment destination. We are now moving towards the third part of the program which is the UAE Africa Gateway program which is in its pilot phase and it also seeks to sell the potentials of countries that have been selected by investors in UAE,” Boma told reporters after the roadshow. 

Harping on the benefits of the collaboration, he said, the UAE-Africa Gateway will “serve as a portal for Cameroonian businesspersons to showcase their projects”.

The program, he further explained, gives the IPA the “opportunity to match up Cameroonian businesses with UAE businesses and this goes a long way to enhance our investments and trade”.

He used the roadshow to call on businesspersons to submit their projects to the IPA so the institution can give it exposure through its platform to attract partnerships with foreign investors. 

“We are ready to look at them and make sure they can be posted on the platform. We have already been working with businesspersons. We use our presence at SAGO to make sure that we vulgarise the information more and more to businesspersons,” he explained. 

Enter UAE Trade Center boss, collaborator 

Speaking via videoconference, the Chief Executive Officer, CEO, of Dubai Consultancy and UAE Trade Center, Walid Hareb Alfalahi, described the IPA roadshow at SAGO as another “great opportunity” to connect businesspersons of both countries. 

He saluted the indefatigable efforts of IPA team under the leadership of its Acting General Manager Boma for what he described as “continuous support”. 

Prior to the intervention of the UAE Trade Center boss, one of his collaborators, Nabil, zoomed on the details of the UAE-Africa Gateway.

He said UAE-Africa Gateway is a platform that provides factsheet of Africa countries, showing their economic overview, growing sectors, government incentives for foreign investors, the growth of foreign investments, the FDI indicators, logistics powers. 

Nabil said the UAE government understands “the potentials of Africa as all eyes are on Africa once it comes to economic growth”. 

IPA, CII join forces for investment opportunities 

The Acting General Manager of IPA also moderated the second roadshow on the upcoming 19th Conclave of the Confederation of Indian Industries, CII, billed for August 20 to 22, 2024, in New Delhi, India.

Members of the CII conclave participated online. It aimed at establishing a dynamic platform that would enable African entrepreneurs, specifically from Cameroon, to submit their projects for consideration by Indian investors. 

This initiative seeks to promote collaboration in critical sectors such as agriculture, food processing, defense, digital partnerships, financial partnership, healthcare, pharmaceutical, infrastructure, power and energy, quality ecosystem, and skill capacity development.

During the event, Acting IPA boss emphasised the potential within Cameroon and the African market, highlighting how Indian investment can play a vital role in accelerating growth and development. 

He outlined the strategic advantages, including access to a young workforce and abundant natural resources, that make Cameroon an attractive destination for foreign investors.

CII representatives expressed their eagerness to explore investment opportunities in Africa. 

During a brief exposé by a Board member, Aditya Ghosh, they noted that the partnership could facilitate technology transfer and enhance capacity building, ultimately benefiting both India and Cameroon. The dialogue included an exploration of mutual interests.

Initiated in 2005, India-Africa Partnership, has witnessed the participation of over 10,000 African and over 8,500 Indian delegates.

The Conclave has also hosted over 500 senior ministers, including Heads of States from Africa. 

The 19th edition of the Conclave is meant to serve as an instrument for Africa’s growth and the role of India-Africa partnership in regional and global value chains integration. 

IPA working to steal show at upcoming OIC confab 

IPA’s third roadshow at SAGO focused on the upcoming Islamic organisation trade fair which will be held on the sidelines of the 50th General Assembly of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, OIC, to hosted in Yaounde, in September 2024. 

The fair will be organised by the IPA in collaboration with the Islamic Centre for Development of Trade, ICDT, and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, BADEA.

It will under the theme: “Investing in the New Cameroon, Land of Attractiveness”, on September 24 to 25, 2024, in Yaounde. 

He said it has as objective to highlight Cameroon as an attractive investment destination and to present to investors from OIC member countries the main investment opportunities available in the country. 

Boma said the forum will encourage the development of economic and commercial partnerships between OIC countries and promote regional integration. 

The Acting IPA boss said the forum will foster the sharing of national and regional experiences, support projects funding through regional financial institutions, promote the realisation of investment intentions for strategic projects, with a view of enhancing investments in intra-OIC value chains.

Enter official of Islamic Center for Dev’t & Trade

Speaking during the videoconference, the Deputy General Manager of Islamic Center for Development and Trade, Mamoudou Sall, thanked the IPA for the invitation to speak at the roadshow about the upcoming event. 

He described Cameroon as a land of countless investment opportunities, noting that the upcoming trade fair on the sidelines of the OIC General Assembly is to promote destination Cameroon. 

He said the event will feature meetings with big investors and government ministries, chamber of commerce and investors from different OIC member countries on projects in different sectors. 

He said there will also be a panel on financing projects in Cameroon and sectorial presentations on the areas that are available for investors such as agriculture, infrastructure and construction, energy, transport and tourism, health among others. 

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No:3183 of Monday July 29, 2024