Doing Business in Cameroon

Cameroon has a wealth of natural resources, including rich potential in the agricultural, forestry, and mining sectors, an ample labor force, and an enviable location between large markets in Nigeria to the west and Central Africa to the south and east. Cameroon is often described as “Africa in Miniature” because of its unparalleled ethnic, linguistic, and geographic diversity.

The Bank of Central African States (BEAC) sets monetary policy for Cameroon and other CEMAC members. CEMAC’s currency, the Central African Franc (CFA), is managed by BEAC and guaranteed at a rate of 655.957 CFA to the Euro by the Treasury of the Government of France.

Cameroon’s major exports are oil and cash crops such as cocoa, coffee, timber, rubber, cotton, and bananas. Cameroon imports mainly semi-processed products, industrial inputs, machinery, and food products. The European Union is Cameroon’s main trading partner with about 60 percent of the total share of trade. France is by far Cameroon's major supplier of imported goods and services. United States trade with Cameroon has increased with the advent of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), but many of the potential benefits of AGOA remain under-realized. The Government of Cameroon signed a decree on October 29, 2007 creating and organizing a National Technical Committee to follow up on AGOA implementation , but the committee has yet to take any action. U.S. imports from Cameroon more than doubled from $297 million in 2007 to $614 million in 2008, with crude and fuel oil accounting for much of the increase, aided by new sales of cocoa, coffee, and lumber.

A committee commissioned by the Government of Cameroon in May 2007 ranked the United States as the largest single foreign investor in Cameroon, in large part due to the substantial American equity in the Chad-Cameroon pipeline and the power sector. There are several large American investments pending in the mining, power, and hotel sectors.

Yaounde is the nation’s political capital, but Douala, the largest city, serves as the economic capital of Cameroon and the Central African region. Almost all transport in and out of Cameroon, Chad, and the Central African Republic transits through Douala’s port, located slightly inland from the Gulf of Guinea, on the banks of the Wouri River. Cameroon is well-served by mobile service providers and access to the Internet, including broadband, is available in the major cities, although problems with capacity often hamper services.