(Business in Cameroon) - In late June 2015, the municipality of Meyomessala, located in Cameroon’s South region, some 250 km from the nation’s capital, founded Société communale de transformation du cacao de Meyomessala (SCTCM), with the aim to “cultivate cocoa, produce cocoa seeds, process cocoa and sell cocoa and its bi-products,” reveals an official notice published on July 15, 2015.

The board of the new agro-industrial company is chaired by the mayor of Meyomessala, Christian Mebiam Mfou'ou who had authorised, following the board meeting held on December 20, 2014, the creation of Société communale d’exploitation minière (SOCEM), to mine two gold and diamond deposits discovered in Cameroon.

With the creation of SCTCM, Meyomessala, the cocoa production heartland and birthplace of the Cameroonian president, plans to play its part to increase cocoa processing capacity in Cameroon, which has been worrying government officials and cocoa-coffee sector stakeholders alike.

With the implementation of the new structure, Meyomessala positions itself among Cameroonian municipalities that are innovating in the area of local resources. It joins other municipalities such as Dimako (forestry) in the East and Sangmélima (a shareholder in the cassava processing company, Sotramas) in the South.