(Business in Cameroon) - The empire that this former assistant truck driver built over the decades, thanks to his tenacity and intelligence, is not as prosperous as it was 10 years ago. The fact is, Mohamadou Abbo Ousmanou has aged, and just like him, his businesses seem to slowly wither as the years pass. Société camerounaise des moulins du center, Société camerounaise de transformation de céréales, Nouvelles sucrières du Cameroun (Nosuca), Cameroon Salt Company, Cameroon Packing Company...which all belong to the billionaire from Ngaoundéré, are indeed no longer as successful as they used to be.

Fortunately, one of the Abbo group’s firms - Maïserie du Cameroun (Maïscam) - still stands tall amid headwinds that seem determined to plunge the billionaire and his assets into oblivion. Indeed, this agro-industrial unit still rules undisputed over the local production of maize grits. Every year, Maïscam supplies about 10,000 tons of grits to Brasseries du Cameroun (a subsidiary of Castel group) which the brewer uses to make beer.