Cameroon alone commands 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 significant engagement. The AFD proper accounts for 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 the AFD’s direct commitments, Cameroon captures 30.7% of a regional total of 2.8 billion euros as of December 31, 2025.
Infrastructure and urban development: core of the intervention strategy
The French donor’s regional strategy clearly prioritizes major infrastructure. 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 flagship projects. This strategic emphasis is consistently reflected in the commitments made within Cameroon during 2025.
Within this scope, infrastructure and urban development absorb a dominant 44.2% of the financing. Support for private financial institutions follows closely at 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 notable operations is the Yaoundé and Douala Flood Control Project, designed to mitigate the exposure of these two major metropolitan areas to recurring climatic events.
This sectoral prioritization reflects the nation’s extensive 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, in the long term, reduce logistical and energy costs for both businesses and households.
Financial architecture predominantly debt-based
The composition of financial instruments deployed in 2025 merits scrutiny from budgetary analysts. Sovereign loans represent the primary channel, accounting for 33.9% of the total. Following this are senior loans (23.2%), Debt Reduction-Development Contracts (C2D) at 16.2%, guarantees (12.6%), European Union delegated credits (7.1%), grants (6.3%), and Technical Expertise and Experience Exchange Funds (FEXTE) at 0.6%.
In essence, more than half of the financial assistance takes the form of reimbursable instruments. This reality serves as a reminder that being the leading regional beneficiary entails future debt service, whose sustainability will hinge on the effective economic profitability of the projects supported. While C2D, guarantees, European credits, and grants soften this financial profile, they do not alter its predominantly debt-based nature.
In the private sector segment, Proparco notably financed Prometal, which the report highlights as a catalyst for industrialization and local transformation. Furthermore, the SeptentrionEst and SECAL programs, targeting rural zones, aim to bolster territorial resilience, entrepreneurship, and food security in the northern regions, which are particularly vulnerable to climatic and security shocks.
Converting leadership into tangible economic gains
Cameroon’s prominent position within the AFD Group’s records represents a significant financial signal, yet it is not an economic verdict. While the institution’s report does publish aggregated results for projects completed between 2020 and 2025 across sectors like 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 ultimate test will be in the execution phase. The quality of implementation, the effective delivery of infrastructure, their operational efficiency, and their capacity to drive down economic costs will determine the final return on these 623 billion FCFA. Maintaining the top regional portfolio ranking is less critical than demonstrating, with concrete figures, that these commitments are genuinely transforming the productive apparatus and essential services within the nation.
