Business

20, February 2025

Cocoa leaders unite to embrace innovation in the face of unprecedented challenges ⁰

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

4, February 2025

IMF pushes for reform of Cameroon’s investment incentive law ⁰

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is not satisfied with how Cameroon has implemented its 2013 law on investment incentives. In a statement released on January 30 announcing an agreement with the Cameroonian government on the latest review of their ongoing economic and financial program, the institution called for a revision of the law. This legislation grants tax and customs exemptions to investors for periods ranging from five to ten years.

“There have been delays in the implementation of the structural reform agenda. To attain the ambitious objectives of the national development strategy (SND30), the authorities are encouraged to complete important measures set out in the program concerning governance in the extractive industry sector, the business climate, SOE reform, and public financial management. Specifically, the mission urged the authorities to advance long-pending work on the SONARA restructuring plan and revise the 2013 law to streamline investment incentives,” the IMF said.

In other words, from the IMF’s perspective, the 2013 investment incentives law, which has been in effect since 2014 and was already revised once in 2017, is not delivering the expected results. This is particularly relevant as the government is increasingly focused on boosting tax and customs revenue to meet growing financial needs.

IMF and Business Leaders Aligned

The IMF is not alone in criticizing how the 2013 law has been implemented. Business leaders in Cameroon have also raised concerns. “Investment incentives in Cameroon need a complete overhaul. Since the law was enacted in April 2013, the government has introduced new policies and reforms affecting investment. As a result, several provisions in the regulatory framework have become outdated and are now misaligned with current government priorities,” said Célestin Tawamba, President of the Cameroon Employers’ Association (GECAM), on September 18, 2024, in Douala during the annual economic meeting of the business community.

Tawamba specifically pointed out the excessive and unjustified duration of the installation (five to seven years) and operational (up to ten years) phases, during which companies benefit from tax and customs exemptions under this law. “These extended periods allow some companies to use these benefits for purposes other than their declared investment plans or to continue enjoying installation-phase advantages even when they have already moved into full operation,” he explained.

Tawamba criticized the unclear eligibility criteria, which “create room for arbitrary decisions and do not ensure fair treatment of applications.” He also noted that the law does not take into account the unique needs of remote regions, which is crucial for balanced regional development in line with the country’s decentralization efforts. Moreover, he argued that some provisions fail to achieve the law’s intended objectives, leading to significant revenue losses for the government while increasing the tax burden on existing businesses that have to compensate for the shortfall.

More Than CFA113 Billion in Tax Breaks in 2023

Given these issues, the GECAM president stressed the need for a comprehensive reform of the investment incentives law to make it more effective. This is especially important, he argued, since Cameroon granted CFA198 billion in tax and customs incentives, yet the wealth generated from these benefits was only about CFA41 billion, representing just 0.0018% of GDP.

According to a report from the Ministry of Finance on tax expenditures in 2023, the government forfeited CFA113.5 billion in tax and duty revenues that year to support private investment projects. This amount accounted for 25.2% of the total tax expenditures approved by the government in 2023 and equaled 3.1% of the tax and customs revenues collected that year.

To put things into perspective, during a speech at the Africa CEO Forum on February 23, 2023, Marthe Angeline Mindja, the late Director General of the Investment Promotion Agency (API), revealed that API had facilitated the signing of 302 agreements with private sector companies, totaling CFA5.474 trillion in projected investments and an estimated 110,000 direct jobs. “Based on an evaluation of 100 API-approved companies that implemented their projects between 2014 and 2019, actual investments amounted to CFA987 billion, resulting in 12,050 direct jobs created,” she noted.

Source: Business in Cameroon

2, February 2025

Canada and Mexico hit back as Trump tariffs trigger trade war between allies ⁰

US President Donald Trump on Saturday signed an order to impose stiff tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and China, drawing swift retaliation and an undeniable sense of betrayal from the country’s North American neighbors as a trade war erupted among the longtime allies.

The Republican president posted on social media that the tariffs were necessary “to protect Americans,” pressing the three nations to do more to curb the manufacture and export of illicit fentanyl and for Canada and Mexico to reduce illegal immigration into the US.

The tariffs, if sustained, could cause inflation to significantly worsen, threatening the trust that many voters placed in Trump to lower the prices of groceries, gasoline, housing, autos and other goods as he promised. They also risked throwing the global economy and Trump’s political mandate into turmoil just two weeks into his second term.

Trump declared an economic emergency in order to place duties of 10% on all imports from China and 25% on imports from Mexico and Canada. Energy imported from Canada, including oil, natural gas and electricity, would be taxed at a 10% rate. Trump’s order includes a mechanism to escalate the rates charged by the US against retaliation by the other countries, raising the specter of an even more severe economic disruption.

“The actions taken today by the White House split us apart instead of bringing us together,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a somber tone as he announced that his country would put matching 25% tariffs on up to $155 billion in US imports, including alcohol and fruit.

He channeled the betrayal that many Canadians are feeling, reminding Americans that Canadian troops fought alongside them in Afghanistan and helped respond to myriad crises from wildfires in California to Hurricane Katrina.

“We were always there standing with you, grieving with you, the American people,” he said.

Mexico’s president also ordered retaliatory tariffs. China did not immediately respond to Trump’s action.

“We categorically reject the White House’s slander that the Mexican government has alliances with criminal organizations, as well as any intention of meddling in our territory,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum wrote in a post on X while saying she had instructed her economy secretary to implement a response that includes retaliatory tariffs and other measures in defense of Mexico’s interests.

“If the United States government and its agencies wanted to address the serious fentanyl consumption in their country, they could fight the sale of drugs on the streets of their major cities, which they don’t do and the laundering of money that this illegal activity generates that has done so much harm to its population.”

Source: France 24

30, January 2025

Yaoundé: New MTN Cameroon CEO meets industry leaders ⁰

Wanda Matandela, MTN Cameroon’s new CEO, began his first visit to the West African country this week, joined by a delegation led by outgoing CEO Mitwa Kaemba Ng’ambi.

During this introductory tour, the MTN Cameroon delegation engaged with esteemed government officials including Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute, technical advisor of Cameroon, Jean-Claude Ayem Mauger.

The group also met with the minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Minette LIBOM LI LIKENG, director general of the Telecommunications Regulatory Board, and Professor Philemeon Zoo Zame, director general of the National Agency for Information and Communication Technologies.

The meetings gave Ng’ambi the opportunity to formally introduce her successor to senior executives and say goodbye.

Ng’ambi will begin her new post as CEO of MTN Côte d’Ivoire on March 1, 2025, the same day Matandela takes over as CEO of MTN Cameroon.

Matandela was MTN SA’s Chief Commercial Operations Officer until his current appointment.

He is a seasoned business executive with extensive expertise in ICT, financial services, and entertainment industries.

The telco executive has a BCom Accounting degree, a Masters in Information Systems from Wits, an MBA from Stellenbosch, and a Certificate in Leadership from IMD, Switzerland.

Source: iTweb Africa

27, January 2025

Yaoundé: Etoudi throws in the towel for African Development Bank presidency ⁰

Biya and his gang have decided not to put forward a candidate for the presidency of the African Development Bank, despite two profiles emerging in recent months, Africa Intelligence reported today.

Africa Intelligence also stated that Biya made the dramatic u-turn to avoid finding himself at odds with the Chadian leader.

Unity Palace had worked to promote its own candidate for the top African Development Bank seat, despite having officially supported Chad’s contender.

The regime in Yaoundé reportedly ordered Cameroonian diplomats to push for economist Albert Zeufack to take over the presidency of the African Development Bank, instead of the former BEAC governor whom N’Djamena is supporting.

As more candidates apply to take on the African Development Bank leadership role, the presidents involved have been quietly calling round to get a picture of the situation.

By Chi Prudence Asong with files from Africa Intelligence

24, January 2025

CEMAC Bank liquidity demand remains high despite BEAC’s reduced offerings ⁰

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

23, January 2025

Southwest region draws half of recovery zone investments ⁰

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

22, January 2025

Douala: Gov’t targets customs corruption in new crackdown ⁰

To mark International Customs Day, Cameroon’s Ministry of Finance launched a campaign on January 14 in Douala to tackle corruption in the country’s customs service. The campaign, which will run until January 22, focuses on educating customs officers in Douala, Kribi, Limbe, and Yaoundé about the harm corruption causes to the nation’s growth.

The effort is backed by Africa Global Logistics (AGL), a key partner in the initiative. Speaking at the launch, Mama Nsounchiat, Deputy Managing Director of AGL Cameroon, underlined the need for accountability. “Corruption has no place in a system that aims for excellence. AGL is dedicated to supporting this fight by providing modern tools and innovative solutions to improve governance,” he said.

Corruption in customs has been a major issue in Cameroon for years. A 2016 report by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (Conac) detailed widespread fraud and misconduct within the sector. The report estimated that between 2010 and 2015, corruption cost the public treasury CFA1,246 billion in lost revenue.

Investigators also uncovered extravagant lifestyles among customs officers. Some were found to own luxurious properties in Douala and other cities, as well as significant bank balances. One case involved a customs officer in Maroua, in the Far North region, who reportedly owned 13 villas, a five-story building, 10 plots of land, trucks, buses, and several luxury cars.

The diaspora has also expressed frustration. In December 2024, Cameroon’s liaison officer to Interpol, Richard Evina Engolo, relayed complaints from Cameroonians abroad to the country’s ambassador in France. These grievances pointed to corruption and other unethical practices by customs officers at the ports of Kribi and Douala.

Source: Business in Cameroon

20, January 2025

Brenda Biya competing with poor saloon girls as the country burns ⁰

Her dad President Paul Biya is fast exceeding his quota of killing. Roads in the country are so bad that potholes are swallowing cars, okadas and bicycles the way his ministers Paul Atanga Nji, Laurent Esso and Ngoh Ngoh are swallowing opponents of the regime.

The Delegate General for National Security, Martin Mbarga Nguele observed recently that driving from the nation’s capital Yaoundé to Mutengene in the South West region, the only way to continue the journey is over the rooftop of the vehicle which the road has already eaten.

So, the best way to survive in Cameroon is by relocating to Bastos in Yaoundé with all your belongings including small shops, hair dressing saloons, beer parlours and cosmetic shops. This is what Brenda Biya, daughter of President Biya the so called Father of the Nation has just done.

Bastos is supposed to be a kind of Stamford Bridge hosting foreign diplomats, billionaires and those who matter deep within the Cameroonian society. But Brenda Biya and her dad President Paul Biya have made it a free for all with every Tom, Dick or Harry steaming up and down eating roast corn and plums like in Metta Quarter in Kumba.

Recently, a small shop Bree Cosmetics opened its doors in Bastos under the direct supervision of the Minister-Secretary General at the presidency of the republic Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh. Bastos is the place no one can be killed in Cameroon.

The decision by Brenda Biya to open her cosmetic shop in Bastos is essentially to keep her father’s failed and empty legacy alive. Brenda Biya is now competing with poor Cameroonian girls who are shuttling between Dubai and Douala to make ends meet!! And Cameroon is burning.

Brenda reportedly studied in one of the best universities in the USA when thousands of English speaking Cameroonians were being killed by the Francophone dominated military in a war that her dad declared against English speaking Cameroonians.

Today, the monstrous liability of a head of state and the all powerful Fon of Fons is watching his children either committing the same shameful errors or falling into spectacular new ones.

The fire burning up the Biya family is the result of him thinking that he is a god. His refusal to bow to demands for change in Cameroon and hand over power to the new generation and his corrupt policy in which the funds of Cameroon as a country are confused with his own, have led to a complete breakdown of law and order.

The Biya family is now opening a small cosmetic shop for Brenda Biya, after more than 42 years of watching the economic and political corruption that has reduced Cameroon to wretched and grinding poverty.

Roman Catholic Bishops have appealed to Mr Biya to step down, but he is not showing any sign of leaving. Cameroon Intelligence Report gathered that he is now struggling to pay his destitute army.

Although French speaking Roman Catholic Bishops are trying to chip away Mr Biya’s authority, the 92-year-old dictator is still firmly entrenched. The most powerful elements of the army, the gendarmerie, the police force and the media are all under his control.

Ultimately Biya’s survival depends on the loyalty of the secret service dominated by elements from his Beti-Bulu tribal extraction, the Francophone military including the National Gendarmerie and to this end, the privileged service men and women will be allocated funds to go and shop at the Bree Cosmetics Shop in Bastos. That will give them a special kind of divinity.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

20, January 2025

Minister Ngoh Ngoh attends opening of Brenda Biya’s Cosmetics boutique in Yaoundé ⁰

Brenda Biya, daughter of President Paul Biya, has officially launched her cosmetics boutique in Yaoundé’s Bastos district.

On Saturday 18 January 2025, Brenda Biya inaugurated her high-end cosmetics store in the heart of Cameroon’s capital. The shop, called ‘Bree Cosmetics’, offers a wide range of beauty products.

The inauguration ceremony was well attended with the Secretary General at the presidency of the Republic, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh also answering present.

‘I worked really hard on this project,’ says Brenda Biya in a promotional video about the opening of her boutique in the Bastos district of Yaoundé.

By Rita Akana in Yaoundé