Sahel Reporter

At the opening of the first Diamond Capital Convention in Douala on September 24, 2026, Finance Minister Louis Paul Motazé set a decisive new course: transform the region’s financial market into a powerful engine for businesses, infrastructure and economic transformation across Cameroon and CEMAC.

A major shift is underway in Central Africa’s financial landscape. On September 24, 2026, in Douala, Finance Minister Louis Paul Motazé presided over the opening ceremony of the inaugural Diamond Capital Convention, a landmark gathering that brought together public authorities, investors, financial institutions, businesses, regulators and other market players to tackle the challenges of financing the real economy.

Addressing participants, the minister urged the entire financial ecosystem to step up capital mobilization for productive sectors. The convention served as a platform for key stakeholders to explore concrete ways to channel more resources into the real economy.

Motazé stressed the urgent need to build a deeper, more dynamic and more attractive financial market—one capable of supporting companies, infrastructure and the major economic transformation projects of Cameroon and the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC).

A decisive push to redirect capital flows

In his keynote address, the Finance Minister underscored the importance of strengthening the market’s capacity to raise the resources needed to finance the real economy. The goal is clear: steer capital more effectively toward businesses, infrastructure and high-growth sectors.

This mobilization targets key areas including industrialization, local processing of raw materials, infrastructure, energy and digital technology—sectors with strong potential to create value, stimulate economic activity and generate jobs.

Savings mobilization: the next frontier

For Louis Paul Motazé, developing the capital market also requires diversifying financing instruments and bridging the gap between project promoters’ needs and the resources available from investors. The aim is to build more pathways between capital and projects capable of transforming economies in a lasting way.

Trust plays a central role in this dynamic. It hinges on effective regulation, transparency, quality financial information, good governance and investor protection.

Mobilizing domestic savings is another critical challenge. Building an accessible and credible financial market should gradually boost the participation of economic actors and citizens in financing productive activity.

Through this first Diamond Capital Convention, participants are expected to deliver concrete solutions to strengthen financing for Cameroon’s and the community’s economies, support productive investment and drive economic transformation.

For Cameroon and CEMAC, the challenge is to turn the capital market into a genuine development lever—transforming available financial resources into productive investments, infrastructure, competitive businesses and jobs.

By Anne Nkeng — Société et culture