Cameroon commands a significant portion, nearly 30%, of the Agence française de développement (AFD) Group’s regional portfolio across Central Africa. The French institution’s 2025 activity report reveals an outstanding commitment of 949.6 million euros, equivalent to approximately 623 billion FCFA, distributed among 51 ongoing projects. This substantial volume positions Yaoundé ahead of other regional capitals, including Kinshasa (741.4 million euros), Libreville (646.3 million euros), Brazzaville (484.9 million euros), N’Djamena (308.7 million euros), and Bangui (144.7 million euros).

A detailed breakdown by entity clarifies the structure of this engagement. The AFD itself contributes 875.8 million euros, while its private sector subsidiary, Proparco, mobilizes 61.8 million euros. Expertise France complements these efforts with 12 million euros. The overall portfolio comprises 47 AFD projects and 4 Expertise France initiatives. Focusing solely on AFD’s commitments, Cameroon accounts for 30.7% of a regional total of 2.8 billion euros as of December 31, 2025.

Infrastructure and urban development: core of the intervention

The French financier’s regional strategy clearly prioritizes major infrastructure projects. The report underscores that infrastructure development is central to its intervention framework in Central Africa, citing the Nachtigal hydroelectric dam in Cameroon and the modernization of the Transgabonais railway as prime examples. This strategic emphasis is consistently reflected in the commitments made within Cameroon throughout 2025.

Within this scope, infrastructure and urban development absorb 44.2% of the total financing. Support for private financial institutions follows, receiving 35.9%, ahead of governance (6.8%), education, training, and employment (6.4%), the productive sector (2.9%), water and sanitation (2.2%), and finally, agriculture and food security (1.7%). Among the flagship operations, the Yaoundé and Douala Flood Control Project aims to mitigate the vulnerability of these two major metropolitan areas to recurrent climatic events.

This sectoral hierarchy reflects both the country’s significant infrastructure deficit and the long-standing financial cooperation between France and Cameroon. It also signifies a deliberate choice: to concentrate resources on initiatives that can ultimately reduce logistical and energy costs for both businesses and households.

A financial architecture dominated by debt

The composition of financial instruments deployed in 2025 warrants close attention from budget analysts. Sovereign loans represent the primary channel, constituting 33.9% of the total. Senior loans follow at 23.2%, with Debt Reduction and Development Contracts (C2D) contributing 16.2%. Guarantees account for 12.6%, European Union delegated credits for 7.1%, grants for 6.3%, and Technical Expertise and Experience Exchange Funds (FEXTE) for 0.6%.

In essence, more than half of the funding takes the form of repayable instruments. This reality highlights that while Cameroon holds the position of the leading regional beneficiary, it also incurs future debt service obligations, whose sustainability will depend on the effective economic profitability of the supported projects. While C2D, guarantees, European credits, and grants help soften this financial profile, they do not alter its predominantly debt-based nature.

In the private sector, Proparco notably financed Prometal, which the report identifies as a catalyst for industrialization and local transformation. Furthermore, the SeptentrionEst and SECAL programs, designed for rural areas, target territorial resilience, entrepreneurship, and food security in Cameroon’s northern regions, which are particularly susceptible to climatic and security challenges.

Converting leadership into economic gains

Cameroon’s prominent position within the AFD Group’s portfolio serves as a financial indicator, not an economic verdict. While the institution’s report does publish aggregated results for projects completed between 2020 and 2025 across agriculture, health, education, and sanitation, these are presented at a regional scale. Such data does not allow for isolating the specific impact of the Cameroonian portfolio on productivity, urban services, or the stimulation of private investment.

For Cameroonian authorities, the true challenge lies in the execution phase. The quality of implementation, the effective delivery of infrastructure, their operational efficiency, and their capacity to reduce economic costs will ultimately determine the final return on these 623 billion FCFA. Maintaining the rank of the largest regional portfolio is less important than demonstrating, with concrete evidence, that these commitments are tangibly transforming the country’s productive capacity and essential services.