AFG Bank Cameroon, formerly known as Banque Atlantique, is now the country’s third-largest bank, trailing only Afriland First Bank and Société Générale. As of January 31, 2025, the bank reported strong financial figures, including CFA934 billion in customer deposits, CFA568 billion in outstanding loans, and CFA500 billion in government securities, according to CEO Éric Valéry Zoa.

A subsidiary of Ivorian financial group AFG Holding, the bank strengthened its financial position in 2023 by increasing its share capital from CFA23.8 billion to CFA28.8 billion. That same year, it posted a net profit of CFA23 billion, enabling it to distribute CFA13 billion in dividends to shareholders.

By the end of January 2024, AFG Bank Cameroon’s equity stood at CFA80 billion, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards set by the Central African Banking Commission (COBAC). “This solid position allows us to fully meet prudential requirements,” said Zoa at an official rebranding ceremony held on March 3 in Yaoundé.

The bank employs 500 people across its network. AFG Bank Cameroon’s history dates back to January 2008, when Ivorian businessman Koné Dossongui, founder of AFG Holding, acquired Amity Bank Cameroon Plc. The sale was approved by COBAC in September 2008, leading to the official launch of Banque Atlantique Cameroon in June 2009.

As of 2023, the bank serves over 138,000 active clients, both individuals and businesses, and operates 22 branches nationwide.

Source: Business in Cameroon

MTN Cameroon has officially appointed Wanda Matandela as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), marking a significant milestone for the company as it continues to expand its footprint in the telecommunications sector.

With a strong background in leadership and strategic development, Matandela is expected to play a crucial role in strengthening MTN Cameroon’s network, enhancing digital services, and driving customer-centric innovations. His arrival emphasizes a renewed focus on technological advancement, market expansion, and financial inclusion, reinforcing the company’s commitment to delivering seamless connectivity to millions of Cameroonians.

As MTN Cameroon navigates an evolving digital landscape, Matandela’s leadership could pave the way for new opportunities, increased investment in infrastructure, and improved access to digital financial solutions. This transition highlights the company’s vision of promoting sustainable growth, innovation, and digital transformation in Cameroon and the region.

Source: Telecomreview

Political and economic instability in recent weeks – from the delay and simplification of regulation to the freeze on international development funding and soaring cocoa prices – are further straining a global cocoa sector already grappling with profound challenges. In response, the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Partnership Meeting will convene global leaders to drive collaboration, accelerate innovation and build long-term resilience across the supply chain.

Under the theme “Our Future: Resilience Through Sustainability”, the meeting on 19-20 March takes place at a defining moment for the cocoa industry. Its location in Brazil – host of COP30 and one of the few nations to have updated its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to reducing greenhouse gas emissions – adds a forward-looking dimension to the discussions. As a leader in agricultural mechanisation, Brazil offers a unique platform for knowledge exchange between cocoa-producing nations, highlighting scalable innovations that can boost efficiency and sustainability.

“Unprecedented challenges require unprecedented collaboration,” said Chris Vincent, President of the WCF. “By bringing together the entire cocoa sector, we aim to share best practices on critical issues such as disease prevention, mechanisation and navigating climate change and evolving geopolitical challenges – all of which are essential for reducing operational costs, increasing productivity and enhancing farmer profitability. A more adaptive sector will be better equipped to withstand shocks and secure a sustainable future.” Vincent concluded.

WCF’s pivotal role in fostering collaboration

The WCF Partnership Meeting is the premier global event dedicated to cocoa sustainability, attracting more than 400 stakeholders from over 40 countries to ensure a direct link between global strategies and on-the-ground realities. This year’s agenda will explore impactful solutions to key industry challenges, including regulatory compliance, evolving geopolitical challenges, modern farming innovations and industry-wide impact measurement.

Confirmed speakers include:

Alex Assanvo – Executive Secretary, Initiative Cacao Côte d’Ivoire-Ghana (ICCIG)

Eduardo Bastos – Executive Director, Brazilian Agribusiness Association (ABAG)

Marcello Brito – Executive Secretary, Legal Amazon Consortium of States

Santiago Gowland – CEO, Rainforest Alliance

Schneider Guataqui Cervera – Global Policy Maker, International Labour Organisation (ILO)

Deborah Faria – Full Professor at the State University of Santa Cruz (UESC)

Dr Koffi N’Goran – Deputy Director General, Coffee Cocoa Council of Côte d’Ivoire (CCC)

Anna Paula Losi – Executive President, Brazilian Association of Cocoa Processing Industries

Valmir Ortega – Partner, Belterra Agroforestry

Pam Thornton – Commodity Trader, Nightingale Investment-Armajaro

Wieneke Vullings – Consul General of the Netherlands in São Paulo.

A full list of confirmed speakers is available on WCF’s website.

By Cecilia Manjang

The Bank of Central African States (BEAC) injected CFA230 billion into the banking system in the CEMAC region on January 21, responding to a surge in demand from commercial banks. This latest liquidity operation saw requests totaling CFA258 billion, exceeding the offer by 112.5%, highlighting the growing need for central bank refinancing.

This renewed interest in BEAC’s funding facilities follows a sluggish period during which the central bank had scaled back its operations due to weak demand. However, since December 2024, commercial banks have been increasingly turning to BEAC, signaling a shift in financial activity across the region.

Bankers link this trend to rising loan demands, which have stretched their available funds. When banks face a gap between loan requests and their liquidity reserves, they typically seek refinancing from BEAC to cover the shortfall.

Source: Business in Cameroon

Of the three economically distressed zones in Cameroon the Far North, Northwest, and Southwest the Southwest has emerged as the most appealing to investors. On January 15, Finance Minister Louis Paul Motazé revealed in Buea, the region’s capital, that it is home to half of the 33 projects benefiting from tax and customs incentives tied to this special status.

“The Southwest alone accounts for over half of the projected investments, with 17 companies involved,” Motazé said. He added that 10 companies in the region have also registered under Cameroon’s 2013 private investment promotion law, securing tax benefits and creating tens of thousands of jobs.

Indeed, unlike the Far North, which is economically underdeveloped, and the Northwest, which lacks industrial capacity, the Southwest has several advantages. Key cities like Buea, Limbe, Kumba, and Tiko are near Douala, Cameroon’s economic hub. An efficient road network connects the Southwest to Douala, simplifying trade and logistics.

The Southwest also shares a border with Nigeria, Cameroon’s largest trading partner, and has modern road infrastructure supporting cross-border trade. The Far North also borders Nigeria but lacks comparable infrastructure.

Proximity to the Atlantic Ocean further strengthens the region’s economic appeal. The Southwest hosts informal maritime trade with Nigeria and includes the Cap Limboh oil terminal, which supplies crude oil to Cameroon’s national refinery (Sonara). Plans to build a deep-sea port in Limbe could further boost the region’s economic potential.

In 2019, Cameroon designated the Far North, Northwest, and Southwest as economically distressed zones, granting businesses tax breaks and other incentives for three to ten years. This initiative aligns with a broader investment promotion law from 2013, revised in 2017.

The Far North received its designation due to repeated Boko Haram attacks since 2013, which have devastated its already fragile economy. The Northwest and Southwest regions, meanwhile, have faced unrest since 2016, driven by armed conflicts between government forces and separatist groups in the country’s Anglophone regions.

Source: Business in Cameroon