(Business in Cameroon) - The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) has an active portfolio of $1.1 billion (about CFA683 billion with current value) in Cameroon. The information was reported on June 21 during a meeting in Yaoundé between the Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motazé, and Anasse Aissani, the IsDB Country Director in Cameroon.

The resources are invested in various areas ranging from infrastructure to agriculture. One of the main beneficiaries is the Cotton Development Corporation (Sodecoton), which receives annual financing from the IsDB to buy inputs and seed cotton from producers. Initially set at CFA13 billion per year, the funding for Sodecoton was increased during the 2017-2018 cotton season, after negotiations between the Cameroonian authorities and the donor. The amount was finally increased to nearly CFA65 billion after that campaign.

This new amount allows Sodecoton to pay the 250,000 producers it supervises on time. Above all, it allows the company to avoid the sometimes prohibitive interest rates of bank loans on the local market. Before the IsDB financial support was increased, Sodecoton regularly sought assistance from credit institutions to meet its cash flow needs.

BRM