AfDB-Cameroon Partnership

A truck carries harvested agricultural products along a road in Cameroon. The African Development Bank's engagement with Cameroon will focus on developing more agricultural, transport, information and communications technology, and energy infrastructure that will further promote the value chains of the agro-pastoral and fisheries sectors in the country. Photo by: SarahTz / CC BY Despite threats to regional political security, a humanitarian crisis in the northern part of the country, and a still weak fiscal environment, Cameroon has managed to post steady economic gains. But growth rates are still too low to address poverty and other development needs in the country. Cameroon’s recorded growth rate of 5.3 percent in 2014 falls below the 6 percent target set in the government’s 2010-2020 Growth and Employment Strategy Paper, which envisions an industrialized and emerging country by 2035. The main challenges impeding its development are the lack of infrastructure, weak governance and unfavorable business environment. In the World Bank’s Doing Business report, the country’s ranking dropped from 148th in 2014 to 158th in 2015. The African Development Bank, Cameroon’s long-time development partner, launched its 2015-2020 country strategy paper to support the government efforts to consolidate growth and make it inclusive and sustainable. The objectives of the strategy will contribute to the thrusts of the GESP, especially on infrastructure development, regional economic integration, private sector development and promotion of good governance. Funding levels and priorities Since cooperation between AfDB and Cameroon started in 1964, the bank has provided $1.67 billion to the Central African country. The bank’s current portfolio is composed of 15 public sector programs worth $668.29 million and four private sector projects worth $168.29 million. Shown below is the public sector allocation per sector: The overarching goal of the 2015-2020 strategy is to support Cameroon’s path to sustainable and inclusive growth by reducing its reliance on oil and gas and diversifying its sources of growth. It hinges on two pillars: Pillar 1: Strengthen infrastructure for inclusive and sustainable growth. AfDB will develop more agricultural, transport, information and communications technology, and energy infrastructure that will further promote the value chains of the agro-pastoral and fisheries sectors. Outcome 1: Develop agricultural value chains and diversify sources of growth. To achieve this outcome, the bank will contribute to financing communities and private facilities required for growing agricultural sector value chains, building the capacity of actors and producers, improving intersector structuring and supporting technological innovation. Outcome 2: Enhance competitiveness and increase regional trade. Bank interventions will focus on developing transport infrastructure to improve accessibility to national and regional markets. It will also work on improving ICT infrastructure. Indicative projects under Pillar 1: ● Agricultural Value Chains Development Program – Phase 1 ($104.29 million)● Transport Sector Program – Phase 2 ($264.19 million)● Central African Backbone ($40.84 million)● Partial Risk Guarantee Project ($556.2 million)● Kribi Port Project Phase 2 ($431.05 million)● Livestock-Fishery Value Chains Development Program – Phase 1 ($86.88 million)● Urban Development Program – Phase 1 ($174.26)● Partial Risk Guarantee Project-Electricity Generation Project ($69.525 million)● Transport Sector Program – Phase 3 ($570.65 million)● Limbe Deepwater Port ($417.15 million)● Cameroon Shipyard and Industrial Engineering Limited – Phase 2 ($354.68 million)● Agricultural Vale Chains Development Program – Phase 2 ($1104.29 million) Pillar 2: Building sector governance for effective and sustainable investment. The bank aims to strengthen governance especially in the transport and energy sectors, which are the focus of the bank’s infrastructure investments. Outcome 1: Improve sector governance and enhance public expenditure effectiveness. The bank will focus on improving the financial information system, budget preparation framework and public procurement framework. Outcome 2: Strengthen the strategic management of urban development. The main bank intervention will be to support the sustainable urban development pilot program in Yaoundé, Douala and other regional towns. Indicative project under Pillar 2: ● Public Expenditure Effectiveness Improvement Support Program ($132.1 million) Meanwhile, crosscutting issues, such as fragility, climate change, green growth, gender and youth employment, will inform all bank interventions. Four studies related to these issues — fragility factors, design of the country’s agricultural and rural statistics strategic plan, guide to mainstream gender and create a decent job protection floor, and agricultural growth sectors — will be undertaken in the next five years. Cameroon was recently promoted to blend country status, which means it has access to both concessional and nonconcessional lending windows. At the same time, several instruments of new loan policy — such as lines of credit, partial guarantee mechanisms, shared risk funds and exchange risk coverage operations — can be accessed under the new strategy. Shown below is AfDB’s indicative lending program for Cameroon over the 2015-2020 period: Devex analysis Cameroon’s graduation to blend status aroused the interest of the government to use the instruments of the new policy loan, which will contribute to the financing of infrastructure projects at a much lower cost. AfDB exponentially increased its allocation to the country from less than half a billion in the previous strategy to $4.92 billion in the new strategy. And compared with the bank’s previous engagement, the new strategy focuses on a limited number of sectors to ensure maximum impact of aid delivery, and also to take into account synergy and complementarity with other development partners. While Cameroon is not a fragile state, pockets of fragility in the northern and eastern regions exist, threatening national cohesion. There are also external risks, such as collateral effects of regional crises, and economic and climate shocks. On its end, AfDB will support government efforts to mitigate these risks. It will also prioritize Cameroon’s regional integration into the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa zone. With these programs laid out, it can be expected that cooperation between Cameroon and AfDB will intensify over the coming years. Contact Tel: (237) 2220-2761, 2220-2765 Fax: (237) 2220-2764 Email: