Presenting the government’s 2026 economic, financial, social, and cultural program to lawmakers on November 26, the Prime Minister shared the latest performance figures for Cameroon’s online visa-issuance platform. According to the official document, 411,439 paid visas were issued as of September 30, 2025, generating CFA46.873 billion in revenue for the state. An additional 34,508 visas were issued free of charge.

These results confirm the growing adoption of the electronic visa system, designed to modernize entry procedures, streamline migration flows, and strengthen the country’s appeal to business travelers and tourists. The government sees it as a key tool for boosting Cameroon’s competitiveness while securing and optimizing public revenue.

A fully online system operational since April 2023

Operational since April 30, 2023, Cameroon’s digital visa-issuance system allows travelers to submit applications online through the evisacam platform and receive their visas within 72 hours, or within 24 hours for express requests.

This shift to a fully digital process aims to simplify user experience, shorten processing times, and reduce physical handling of documents, while giving the administration better traceability of applications and centralized monitoring of traveler flows.

A new fee structure

The move to digital processing followed the revision of visa fees under the 2023 Finance Law. Previously, fees were set at CFA50,000 for three-month stays, CFA100,000 for six months, and CFA150,000 for twelve months.

The new structure retains only two categories of visas issued by Cameroonian embassies and consulates: short-stay (six months) and long-stay (twelve months), available through standard (72-hour) or express (24-hour) procedures. Standard fees remain unchanged. For express processing, however, applicants must now pay CFA150,000 for a short-stay visa and CFA200,000 for a long-stay visa, representing increases of 50% and 33.3% respectively.

Securing and centralizing consular data

The Minister of External Relations explained that the system developed by Impact Palmarès is the same model tested for several months at Cameroon’s embassy in Côte d’Ivoire for biometric visas. It enhances and completes the DIPLOMAT system developed by the Ministry’s technology and cryptography unit, both in terms of security and data centralization.

Integrating evisacam and strengthening the DIPLOMAT platform are expected to improve the security of issued documents, the reliability of collected data, and the state’s ability to manage its visa policy using consolidated indicators.

Source: Business in Cameroon

The Cameroonian government on Wednesday signed an agreement to buy back the stake held by British private equity fund Actis in Eneo, the country’s main electricity distributor.

The signing, which comes after more than two years of negotiations, took place at the Ministry of Finance in the presence of Finance Minister Louis Paul Motaze, Water and Energy Minister Gaston Eloundou Essomba and representatives from Actis. The transaction is valued at 78 billion CFA francs, according to sources familiar with the deal.

Actis, which bought a 51 percent share in Eneo in 2014, is expected to finalize its exit at an upcoming extraordinary board meeting. Once the transaction is completed, the state will hold 95 percent of the company, with the remaining 5 percent set aside for employees. The new structure effectively places Eneo back under state control.

A Sector Under Heavy Financial Strain

The takeover comes as Cameroon’s electricity sector faces severe financial pressure. According to the Ministry of Water and Energy’s Compact Energy Pays, Eneo’s total debt reached 800 billion CFA francs (about 1.3 billion dollars) at the end of 2024. This includes roughly 500 billion CFA francs owed to suppliers and around 80 billion CFA francs in unpaid bills.

Two years earlier, Eneo’s debt already stood at about 700 billion CFA francs, nearly half of which was owed to public entities including Sonatrel, EDC, Sonara, SNH-Tradex and Arsel. The growing debt burden reflects chronic underinvestment in the sector, an aging grid and frequent power outages.

Government Plans Sector Overhaul

The government is preparing a broad recovery plan, with the first steps scheduled for 2025 and 2026. Buying back the Actis stake marks the start of the process, which will include a full assessment of Eneo, a restructuring of its debt and stronger measures to improve bill collection, particularly from public institutions.

Authorities aim to restore the sector’s financial balance by 2028. Priorities include modernizing the distribution network, cutting technical losses and improving the financial performance of the power system. Regaining control of the utility is seen as a strategic move to stabilize a critical sector and improve the reliability of electricity supply across Cameroon.

Source: Business in Cameroon

Cameroon’s central government domestic debt, excluding arrears pending payment by the Treasury, stood at CFA4.246 trillion at the end of September 2025, according to data from the Autonomous Sinking Fund (CAA). The figure represents a 15.5% year-on-year increase, reflecting what the agency described as “strong domestic resource mobilization to meet state financing needs.”

The rise is mainly driven by increased issuance of public securities, which now account for 54.7% of total domestic debt. Treasury bonds (OTA) and Treasury bills (BTA) continue to play a key role in financing the government on the CEMAC regional money market, which includes Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, and the Central African Republic.

Over the first nine months of the year, Cameroon’s outstanding Treasury securities reached CFA2.324 trillion, compared with CFA1.966 trillion during the same period in 2024. Medium- and long-term OTAs, used to fund infrastructure projects, remain dominant, totaling CFA1.345 trillion at the end of September 2025, up from CFA1.1 trillion a year earlier. Short-term BTAs, designed for cash management, stood at CFA568.1 billion, up CFA113.7 billion year-on-year.

This upward trend in public securities is not unique to Cameroon. Other CEMAC member states are also increasingly using the regional money market—created in 2011 by the Bank of Central African States (BEAC)—to cover domestic financing needs.

However, growing reliance on this mechanism increases exposure to sovereign risk. Commercial banks, which serve as Primary Dealers (SVTs) and remain the main investors in Treasury securities, could face financial strain if governments were to default repeatedly on their obligations.

Source: Business in Cameroon

Cameroon’s electricity sector is sinking deeper into financial distress, weighed down by mounting debt, underinvestment, and the fragility of its operators. According to the Energy Compact Country Report from the Ministry of Water and Energy (Minee), Eneo Cameroun, the national power distributor, recorded total debt of CFA800 billion at the end of 2024, including CFA500 billion owed to suppliers and CFA80 billion in receivables. In 2022, its debt already stood at CFA700 billion, with CFA336 billion due to suppliers. Creditors include several state entities such as Sonatrel, EDC, Sonara, SNH-Tradex, and the regulator Arsel.

A subsidiary of British investment fund Actis, which holds 51% of its capital, Eneo returned to profit in 2022 with a net income of CFA10 billion after a CFA35.5 billion loss in 2021, followed by CFA8.4 billion in 2023. However, its cash position has deteriorated sharply, falling from a surplus of CFA3.62 billion in 2022 to a deficit of CFA1.58 billion in 2023.

The Minee now considers Eneo a budgetary risk for the state, describing the utility as unable to cover operating expenses and warning that it could create gaps between projected and actual government revenues or spending. On June 8, 2023, then-Director of Electricity Lionel Omgba Oyono warned of “a high risk of payment default by the concessionaire” during a meeting with the World Bank.

Structural weaknesses and financial strain

The ministry cites multiple structural issues: limited access to financing for infrastructure upgrades, chronic underinvestment in transmission and distribution, and weak governance. Between 2014 and 2022, Eneo invested CFA320 billion, 40% of which (CFA128 billion) went into the distribution network—an amount even the company deems insufficient. Eneo failed to secure a CFA210 billion loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) due to concerns over its financial health and governance quality.

The company relies heavily on short-term bank loans and operates an aging network. In 2023, both technical and commercial losses reached 14%, while collection rates remained low, hampered by fraud and unpaid bills from public entities.

Government moves toward restructuring by 2026

To address the crisis, the government is preparing a comprehensive recovery plan through 2026. It includes the state’s acquisition of Actis’s stake in Eneo in 2025, a full diagnostic and restructuring plan by February 2026, and debt reorganization within the same period. A strengthened mechanism for collecting unpaid public-sector bills is also expected to take effect by 2026 to ease financial pressure on the utility.

Since 2023, electricity tariffs for medium-voltage customers (3 to 10 MW) have been progressively adjusted, with a 10% annual increase planned through 2026 to align prices with service costs. This measure has boosted Eneo’s revenue by about CFA18 billion between 2023 and 2024, or roughly $30 million.

The challenge remains significant. According to Minee, restoring the power sector’s viability will require an overhaul of the distribution system, stricter financial discipline, and infrastructure modernization. The government aims to restore balance by 2028 with three main goals: achieving full bill recovery by 2026, improving distribution efficiency to 88% by 2030, and developing a comprehensive financial model for the sector by the end of 2025.

Source: Business in Cameroon

Citigroup Inc. expects Cameroon to tap the International Monetary Fund for a new program once the dust settles on elections held earlier this month because of macroeconomic pressures.

Incumbent, Paul Biya, 92, who is seeking an eighth term, is expected to win the Oct. 12 elections that were marred by the disqualification of his main challenger. Cameroon’s election commission is yet to declare a winner.

Source: Bloomberg

Cameroon has commissioned a new cement plant in Edéa, Littoral region, with an annual capacity of 1Mt. The facility, developed by Chinese investors under Central Africa Cement (CAC), was inaugurated on 19 September 2025, by Acting Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development, Fuh Calistus Gentry.

The new plant is the second in Edéa, following Sinafcam Sarl’s entry into the market in June 2025. A third Chinese-backed producer, Yousheng Cement, is expected to begin operations soon with a 1.8Mt capacity. Combined, the three plants will expand the footprint of Chinese players in Cameroon’s cement industry, bringing the number of active producers to nine.

Cameroon’s cement market, once monopolised for 48 years by Cimenteries du Cameroun (Cimencam), a Lafarge Holcim Maroc Afrique subsidiary, has diversified since 2015. The sector now includes Dangote Cement Cameroon, Morocco’s Cimaf, Turkey’s Medcem (Eren Holding), Mira Co, and Portugal’s Cimpor.

Despite installed national capacity exceeding 10Mt, against average demand of about 8Mt, retail prices remain high. A 50kg bag of cement sells for CFA5,100–5,300 (US$9.12-9.48) in Douala and Yaoundé. Producers cite high clinker import costs, though Trade Minister Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana has accused companies of collusion to sustain prices.

Source: Cemnet

Cameroon’s national airline, Camair-Co, is taking the next step in its recovery plan. After re-establishing regional routes to Libreville, N’Djamena, Bangui, Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, and Cotonou, the state-owned carrier is preparing to launch new routes to Kinshasa, Lagos, Abuja, and Malabo by the end of the year, according to the latest issue of its corporate magazine, reviewed by Business in Cameroon.

This expansion marks the second phase of the airline’s rollout across the African continent. In the medium term, this will be followed by a return to its intercontinental network, with a resumption of flights to Paris. “The African air transport industry is evolving at an unprecedented pace. Faced with this reality, we must adapt to overcome the challenges of increased competition in the Cameroonian skies, meet the demands of recovery, and satisfy the ever-growing expectations of our passengers,” said Jean Christophe Ella Nguema, Camair-Co’s General Manager.

On these strategic African routes, Camair-Co will face stiff competition from well-established carriers. Airlines like Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways, RwandAir, and Asky Airlines already operate on these lines, with a strong presence in Lagos, Kinshasa, and Abuja. This environment will require the Cameroonian airline to enhance its competitiveness in service quality, punctuality, and pricing strategy.

To achieve its ambitions, Camair-Co is relying on a recovery plan worth nearly 100 billion CFA francs, which began with the recent acquisition of a Boeing 737-800. The company’s stated goal is clear: to “become a high-performing and self-sufficient airline in several sectors of the aviation industry.” To that end, management has developed a five-year strategy focused on modernizing its fleet, expanding its network, improving service quality, and digitizing internal processes. Nine key sectors have been identified for self-sufficiency, with maintenance being the top priority.

As the undisputed leader in domestic air transport, with 11,606 movements and 549,303 passengers in 2024, Camair-Co is now leveraging its network expansion to consolidate its position in Africa and prepare for its return to intercontinental routes.

Source: Business in Cameroon