Cameroon targets up to 800 billion CFA francs at November Investment Forum ⁰

Cameroon’s Investment Promotion Agency formally launched preparatory activities for the fifth edition of the Cameroon Investment Forum on April 28 in Yaoundé, setting a target of 500 billion to 800 billion CFA francs in investment commitments from the three-day event.

The forum, CIF 2026, is scheduled for November 18 to 20 at the Yaoundé Conference Centre. It arrives at a moment of accelerating economic realignment across the continent, with the African Continental Free Trade Area gaining momentum and regional value chains reshaping where capital flows, and Cameroon is explicitly positioning itself to capture a significant share of that investment traffic.

IPA Interim General Manager Boma Donatus presented the plans alongside Walid Farghal, Director General of the AIM Global Foundation, which is co-organising the forum under a Memorandum of Understanding signed in Abu Dhabi at the AIM Congress 2025.

Beyond the investment commitment goal, the forum aims to present 40 bankable projects, close or advance at least 15 deals currently in negotiation, produce sectoral roadmaps, and identify ten priority reforms to sharpen Cameroon’s competitiveness. Sectors in focus include agribusiness, energy, digital technology, logistics, infrastructure, and manufacturing.

A significant shift in this edition is the involvement of the AIM Global Foundation as co-organiser, a partnership the IPA says is designed to bring international rigour to an event previously organised primarily through domestic capacity.

“AIM can mobilise investors from almost every country where we cannot go ourselves. With a partner like this, we are certain that the appeal of our forum will be strengthened even further. AIM has expertise in developing several types of platforms that contribute to the signing of deals and strategic partnerships,” Boma Donatus said.

AIM Foundation operates across more than 180 countries, with a network of over 300,000 investors and institutions. Farghal, who travelled to Yaoundé to attend the launch and begin technical preparations with the IPA, was direct about what AIM brings to the table.

“Our focus is to develop deals for specific sectors especially infrastructure, logistics, new energy, manufacturing and agribusiness. We are working very closely with the IPA team to make sure that all features of the forum will be well positioned and promoted internationally to all AIM Global branches,” he said.

CIF 2026 is also being framed as a platform to promote ongoing government reforms, including the digitisation of administrative procedures and the modernisation of the investment framework, signalling to prospective investors that the operating environment is actively being improved.

The IPA has opened registration for all stakeholders, including businesses, investors, financial institutions, start-ups, project promoters, public administrations, and diaspora communities, at the forum’s website.

Source: Business in Cameroon