The U.S. Department of State’s Investment Climate Statements provide information on the business climates of more than 170 economies and are prepared by economic officers stationed in embassies and posts around the world. They analyze a variety of economies that are or could be markets for U.S. businesses.  The Investment Climate Statements are also references for working with partner governments to create enabling business environments that are not only economically sound, but address issues of labor, human rights, responsible business conduct, and steps taken to combat corruption.  The reports cover topics including Openness to Investment, Legal and Regulatory Systems, Protection of Real and Intellectual Property Rights, Financial Sector, State-Owned Enterprises, Responsible Business Conduct, and Corruption.

To access the ICS, visit the U.S. Department of State Investment Climate Statement website.

Investment Climate Statement Executive Summary

Cameroon, the largest economy in the Central African Economic and Monetary Union (CEMAC), continues to recover from external economic shocks. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects Cameroon’s real GDP growth to reach 4.6 percent in 2023, up from 3.4 percent in 2022, supported by higher oil prices and non-oil production. The current account deficit is expected to deepen to 3 percent in 2023 against 1.6 percent in 2022. Headline inflation is projected to reach 5.9 percent at end the of 2023, up from 5.3 percent in 2022. The overall fiscal deficit improved from 2.3 percent of GDP in 2022 to around 1.3 percent in 2023 reflecting higher oil revenues, while the non-oil primary deficit is estimated to improve from 4.5 percent of GDP in 2022 to 2.4 percent in 2023, mainly due to the phasing out of fuel subsidies.

Cameroon’s current National Development Strategy (NDS30) sets out to create an enabling environment for public-private partnerships which can spur job growth. The strategy also focuses on boosting local production, developing, infrastructure and leveraging technology for growth and employment.

Cameroon’s economy has faced major external shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, that have disrupted food commodity and fuel supplies, and placed upward pressure on prices. While some of the adverse effects of exogenous shocks are being weathered with support from the IMF’s three-year $689.5 million hybrid Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangements, the upward pressure on fuel prices nonetheless forced the government to ease its fuel subsidies policy. This led to a rise in official fuel prices at the pumping stations. In January 2023, the IMF Executive Board completed the third review of the ECF-EFF program and approved a new disbursement of $73 million.

Cameroon’s 2023 budget totals $10.1 billion, an increase of 4 percent from the 2022 mid-term revised budget, largely funded by tax increases for businesses and households even as the cost of living for Cameroonians soars. The 2023 budget aligns with the National Development Strategy and the IMF program and sets a target to contain the budget deficit.

Cameroon maintains strong competitive advantages due to bilingualism in French and English, relative political stability, a diversified economy, and its location as a gateway to landlocked countries in the Central African region. It offers immense investment potential in infrastructure, agriculture and extractive industries, consumer markets, and modern communication technology (for example, internet broadband, fiber optic cable, and data centers). However, Cameroon’s telecommunication infrastructure needs significant investment for upgrade, as network outages are frequent. More investment opportunities exist in the financial sector as only 15 percent of Cameroonians have access to formal banking services. Governance challenges and administrative bottlenecks remain major setbacks to Cameroon’s investment climate.