Priority sectors 12 2007

Investment guide
Many sectors of activity in Cameroon will draw the attention of an investor
These sectors include:

tourism

Cameroon, with two official languages (English and French), has a huge tourist potential, which have earned it the appellation of “Africa in miniature”.

The variety of climates, ecological landmarks and human diversity give the impression of putting together in one country all landmarks found in Africa.

Several tourist sites are spread over the entire country, with all kinds of features:
the Kribi and Limbe beaches for seaside tourism;
the chiefdoms of the West, pygmy camps in the East and South of the country for cultural tourism ;
the national parks of the north and Far North Provinces, the Lobe falls and caves of the South for photo safaris;
the mountain chain of the West, with Mount Cameroon standing 4,070m above sea level and the Mandara Mountains of the Far-North, for mountain climbers;
there are 47 hunting zones scattered across the country for hunting expeditions; and,
farm tourism in numerous flower gardens, as well as coffee, cocoa, rubber, oil palm, tea, pepper and tomato plantations in the country

The development of tourism was the fifth point on the Head of State’s ten-point programme for building the country’s future during the current seven-year term of office.

Two major steps were taken with a view to developing tourism in Cameroon and promoting Cameroon as a tourism destination. One was to open a tourist information bureau in Paris for Europe in October 2000 and the other was to set up a National Tourism Council with responsibility for designing a sound strategy to boost the tourism sector.

Despite the drop witnessed in the hotel sector during the 2004 financial year, the tourism sector did rather well.

Processing of agricultural, animal and fisheries produce

Agriculture is a key and priority sector in Cameroon’s economy. It employs about 70% of the active population, accounts for 42% of the GDP and represents 51% of exports. The country’s geographic location and climate have endowed it with a rich and diversified agricultural potential.

There is a need to promote the processing of agricultural produce. Agricultural production is experiencing a boom, not only for traditional crops grown for domestic consumption, but also for the non-traditional crops like Irish potatoes, onions, wheat, rice and various vegetables, that are consumed locally and also exported.

Cameroon has a livestock population estimated at 5 million heads of cattle and 7 million sheep and goats, mostly in the Far-North, North and Adamaoua Provinces.

The processing of animal products is a very fast-growing sector, especially the dairy industry.

In 1991, the Government set up a pilot milk project in Ngaoundere, with a farm and fresh milk production plant.

The project objective was two-fold: to develop Cameroon’s dairy production by reducing the baneful effects of imports and to create new sources of income for stockbreeders.

The privatization of the sector led to the creation of SMEs and the satisfaction of an ever-increasing demand.

Actors in the poultry sector and officials of the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Husbandry have held discussions on the issue of home-based processing of poultry.

The fishing sector has not been fully explored, but is a sector which is full of opportunities.

Logging

Timber is the second export product of Cameroon
With 20 million hectares of forest, Cameroon ranks second to the Democratic Republic Congo in Africa.

The forestry sector, which accounts for about 6% of the GDP, currently generates 45,000 to 50,000 jobs, with close half the number in the informal sector.

The adoption of the forestry code in 1994 and the partial ban on undressed timber exports in 1999 led to rapid industrialization in the sector.

Wood processing is henceforth a reality in Cameroon, thus creating a significant number of jobs and generating foreign currency. It is the engine of the country’s forest economy. Cameroon, in fact, has the most developed wood processing industry in the sub-region.

The wildlife sector, on its part, generates about 100,000 million CFA F in direct income, often from tourist hunting (cost of obtaining permits, entry fees into wildlife protected areas, etc.). The sector currently employs about 2,000 persons.

The non-woody forest products (like gnetum, rattan, bitter kola, etc.) are still to be fully explored. Most of the activity in this sector occur in rural areas and use artisan methods mostly.

Hydrocarbons and mining resources

For a long period, Cameroon’s economic expansion was generated by the oil sector, which was then the most dynamic sector of the country’s economy.

At mid-point in the execution of the 2005 budget, oil exports had earned 135,800 million CFA F compared to 107,000 million CFA F at end May 2004, which represents a 27% increase over a year.

The sharp rise in crude prices on the world market is a booster to the sector, despite the gradual depletion of oil deposits.

Many businesses operate in the sector, including the production of crude petroleum oils, the main export product, as well as the sale of fuel and lubricants and production of crude oil.

A more attractive legislative framework

Cameroon implemented a number of measures aimed at making the contract and fiscal framework more attractive to oil companies, with a view to reviving exploration and encouraging the development of low-yield oil fields (with an estimated 3 million tonnes of oil reserves) as a means of compensating for dwindling production.

Thus two types of petroleum contracts can be signed: the concession contract (CC) or the production-sharing contract (PSC).

SONARA, the country’s lone oil refinery, sells 65% of its production locally.

Gas, an opportunity to be seized

It has been known for over twenty years that Cameroon possesses 160,000 million cubic metres of proven gas reserves in the Rio del Rey and Kribi basins. Unfortunately, these reserves are undeveloped for reasons of profitability and absence of markets.

The load shedding that the country has been facing since 2002 due to a persistent shortage of electric power may provide a great opportunity for the development of existing gas deposits.

Rich and promising subsoil

Le secteur des mines au Cameroun est régi par la loi portant Code minier The mining sector in Cameroon is governed by a law to lay down the the Mining Code which was enacted in April 2001, thus repealing the 1964 law with had become inconsistent with the country’s economic realities.

Cameroon’s mining resources are still exploited using artisan methods, whereas the country’s subsoil is replete with minerals such as gold, bauxite, cobalt, iron, etc.

The Government has a medium-term plan to develop the mining sector. Measures to that end have been initiated, an example of which is the law to lay down the Mining Code, which was enacted in 2001.

This Code seeks to develop Cameroon’s crude mineral products to make earnings which compensate for the declining oil production. It seeks to incentivize investors by granting them, during the mine construction phase, exemption from taxes and duties on materials, inputs and equipment required for production purposes. Simultaneously, it seeks to safeguard the interests of the 10,000 or so artisan miners in the sector by making provision for them to be registered and to set up micro-enterprises.

ICTs

The telecommunications sector is recording fast-pace development. Cameroon Telecommunications (CAMTEL), the State-owned corporation, has an Internet connection loop with a speed of 512 kbs. It is currently restructuring its telephone network. CAMTEL offers a wide range of services. It has just signed a platform agreement with a Chinese company to operate 5,000 cordless fixed telephone lines.

Two private telephone operators, MTN and ORANGE, have been operating in the country for five years. This gives an overall GSM network coverage rate of about 70% of the country. The cell phone has moved from being a prestige item in 1997 to that of working tool today. Its penetration rate is very high in towns and villages as well.

Cybercafés offer a new dimension to communication between Cameroon and the rest of the world. They also ease ownership of information processing techniques by a majority of people.

There are other sectors that offer enormous business opportunities which remain to be explored. These include:

Storage and preservation of food products;
Operating hospitals and clinics, as well as clinical laboratories;
Public works and civil engineering equipment manufacturing, which is a fast growing sector;
Equipment maintenance, manufacturing of spare parts; and,
Shipyard activity.