In early October, Switzerland was honoured in Cameroon. In the margins of the visit paid by the Vice-President of the Swiss Confederation, Simonetta Sommaruga, a delegation of entrepreneurs from Geneva spent three days in Yaoundé. This business trip was done to strengthen the economic ties between Switzerland and Cameroon in the framework of a Monitoring Committee implemented the day after the 9th EMA Invest Forum. Of the 8 business heads that attended, five were monitored through a series of meetings. Everything suggests that this will not be the last such effort...

The 9^th EMA Invest just came to a close this Friday in Geneva on new investment perspectives, particularly for the Cameroonian delegation where participating Ministers, guests of honour, participated in many business meetings.

The forum, in partnership with the Financial Times, opened on the eve of a very convincing presentation by the Julius Bär Bank, the leading Swiss private bank, on the economic outlook for Africa.

Among the noteworthy projects initiated on the 9th EMA Invest, there was Addax & Oryx Group, presented by its president Jean-Claude Gandur, who announced publicly his wish to do in Cameroon the investments he already achieved in Sierra Leone and have had been recognised by the UN. Developed in Sierra Leone and expected to produce 100,000 tonnes of ethanol by a year from now, the project was implemented based on very demanding criteria of social responsibility and sustainability. It represents 267 million euros and covers 14,300 hectares.

Arborescence Capital also committed to developing a 50 MW solar energy project and 50 MW wind energy project.

Other contacts were made to connect the Cameroonian micro-finance sector to specialised Swiss investment funds such as Symbiotics. There was also Swiss Mining Resources’ interest in developing Cameroon’s mining sector.

In addition, two hi-tech projects are to be set-up in Cameroon. One of them is by the prestigious California-based university, UCLA, which plans to build a campus and a research centre that will be called the “Centre for Integrative Development” that will work with California on new technologies an sustainable development.

Similarly, another project of the Lausanne Polytechnic Institute (EPFL) was presented. It aims to create a start-up incubator for energies that will be used in healthcare.

Since the month of October, several investors have already announced their plans to visit Cameroon to “make hay while the sun shines”. There are, indeed, many projects to monitor in the coming weeks.

Genève, le 4 octobre 2013

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