(Business in Cameroon) - According to the representation of the French Development Agency (Agence Française de Développement - AFD) in Cameroon, this organisation financed projects worth a total of FCfa 100 billion in the country during 2015. Still based on the same source, the biggest financial support given in Cameroon by AFD last year was the loan of FCfa 47 billion granted to the government as part of the project for the construction of the Batschenga-Yoko-Lena toad.

In 2015, AFD also granted its first non-sovereign loan to a public Cameroonian company. This was the company Aéroports du Cameroun (ADC), for the renovation of airport runways and the construction of a new passenger terminal at the Douala International Airport, the main gateway of the country.

At the same time, we learn, FCfa 17 billion have already been made available by AFD for the implementation of the Ariz Guarantees, a risk-sharing system mean to facilitate access to financing for SMEs and microfinance establishments.

Additionally, in 2015, Agence Française de Développement released FCfa 1 and 2.1 billion, respectively for the project "Douala Ville durable" (Douala sustainable city) and the project to support the development of Geographical Indications (IG) in Africa led by OAPI, and which could lead to the certification of other Cameroonian products after the Oku honey and Penja white pepper.

As a reminder, in December 2013, the French ambassador in Cameroon, Christine Robichon, revealed in an interview with the pro-government daily that since 2006, the financial commitments taken by Agence Française de Développement to support Cameroon were estimated at approximately FCfa 1,000 billion, with an average of FCfa 135 billion per year.

Brice R. Mbodiam