(Business in Cameroon) - On November 21, Guinean Head of State Alpha Condé officially inaugurated the National Investment Bank of Guinea (Banque Nationale d’investissements de Guinée-BNIG). This banking institution (expected to boost the country’s development) was established with the technical support of Afriland First Group, official sources reveal.

Afriland First Group (a Swiss holding company controlled by Cameroonian businessman Paul Kammogne Fokam) "managed all the operations related to the designing, studies, establishment, approval submission, recruitment, training, start-up, and operationalization of the BNIG," a source close to the case explains.

The head of the administrative board of the new bank is Paul Kammogne Fokam (Head of Afriland First Group that will continue its support to the BNIG). In the same vein, Cameroonian citizen Guy Laurent Fondjo (who is CEO of Afriland First Bank Guinea and economic advisor to President Alpha Condé) has been appointed Secretary of the said board.

Also, through Afriland First Bank Guinea, Paul Kammogne Fokam owns 10% of the new bank's capital, while the remaining 90% is owned by the Guinean state.

“In 1958, Guinea started developing a pan-African policy we are all proud of. Those who are unaware of it will wonder how the national investment bank of Guinea can be managed by a Cameroonian (…) this is pan-Africanism at play. Dr.Fokam introduced the MC2-MUFFA model (Ed.note: a network of microfinance institutions) in Guinea and the model was successful. Yet, it can not help small producers while our ambition is to be self-sufficient (…) This is why the national investment bank of Guinea was created. Via appropriate measures, it will collect savings nationwide and set the guidelines for investments in the industrial, agriculture, handicraft, and commercial sectors,” Alpha Condé commented.  The Guinea President expects that thanks to BNIG, his country will become a rice exporter "within two years."

With a capital of 100 billion Guinean francs, "BNIG will set up an agropole system that integrates agricultural production, processing, and distribution. This means that you will no longer be afraid to produce since you will have a market where you can sell your products. To achieve the objective set by the government, it will be necessary (in addition to agropoles) to develop industrial poles that will be protected by the State,” Paul Kammogne Fokam comments.

Brice R. Mbodiam