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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