As of December 31, 2024, the AFD Group’s portfolio in Cameroon totaled 594 billion FCFA, the largest share of the 1,705.4 billion FCFA committed across Central Africa. By 2025, this figure grew to approximately 622.8 billion FCFA, distributed across 51 initiatives—47 led by AFD and 4 by Expertise France, per the group’s annual report. The breakdown among AFD’s entities is clear: 574.4 billion FCFA for AFD itself, 40.5 billion FCFA for Proparco (its private-sector arm), and 7.8 billion FCFA for Expertise France.

While the overall total commands attention, the sector-by-sector allocation reveals deeper trends. In 2025, infrastructure and urban development claimed 44.2% of commitments, followed by private financial institutions at 35.9%, governance at 6.8%, and education, training, and employment at 6.4%. At the other end of the spectrum, agriculture and food security received a mere 1.7%, water and sanitation 2.2%, and productive sectors 2.9%.

Infrastructure: a deliberate and historically grounded choice

The AFD’s focus on infrastructure is no coincidence. It reflects a long-standing strategy aligned with Cameroon’s pressing needs. Since establishing operations in Cameroon in 1960, the agency has consistently been one of the country’s largest beneficiaries in Africa, with average annual commitments nearing 150 billion FCFA since 2002. The 2025 flagship project underscores this approach.

On January 21, five financing agreements totaling 175.5 million euros were signed at the Ministry of Economy. The most significant was a sovereign loan of 150 million euros for the Douala-Yaoundé Flood Prevention Program (PLIDY), targeting recurrent flooding in the country’s two largest cities. The initiative aims to permanently reduce vulnerabilities in both populations and infrastructure. This single project alone accounts for nearly five times the entire three-year budget Cameroon allocated to reviving its wheat sector. AFD also supported the Regional Capitals Program—funded through the Debt Conversion and Development Contract (C2D)—which modernizes urban infrastructure in five secondary cities, alongside the Sporcap initiative for sports facility access.

Agriculture: a sector left behind despite national ambitions

Herein lies a stark contrast. The Cameroonian government has positioned food sovereignty as a cornerstone of its 2020–2030 National Development Strategy (SND30). The 2024–2026 Integrated Plan for Agropastoral and Fisheries Import-Substitution (PIISAH) earmarks 1,500 billion FCFA to reduce reliance on imported rice, wheat, palm oil, and other staples. Against this backdrop, the AFD’s allocation of just 1.7% to agriculture and food security in 2025 raises questions.

This minimal share contrasts sharply with AFD’s broader continental priorities. Between 2018 and 2024, Proparco doubled its annual investments in Africa, mobilizing over 7.6 billion euros—roughly 1.2 billion per year—across infrastructure, agriculture, food security, financial systems, and essential services. Yet these priorities don’t translate with the same intensity in Cameroon’s portfolio. Historical examples exist: AFD backed 8,000 productive projects through the ACEFA program, benefiting 260,000 farms and financing microprojects in cereals, livestock, agro-processing, and marketing.

The program’s next phase aims to reach one million Cameroonian farms by 2035, as smallholder agriculture—comprising over two million farms—produces nearly 80% of the country’s agricultural output. These achievements are real, yet their budgetary weight in 2025 remains marginal compared to large-scale urban projects.

Sovereign loans: the driving force behind funding structures

The financial instruments used further illuminate the portfolio’s priorities. In 2025, sovereign loans accounted for 33.9% of commitments, followed by senior loans at 23.2%, C2D at 16.2%, and guarantees at 12.6%. Grants, which are non-repayable and ideal for social impact projects with long-term returns, represented only 6.3% of the total. This structure has its own logic: large infrastructure projects align naturally with sovereign loans, as they produce tangible assets capable of securing repayment.

Agricultural projects, however, often involve dispersed populations, uncertain yields, and long repayment timelines—conditions poorly suited to traditional debt instruments. The limited role of grants in the portfolio may partially explain the relative underfunding of agriculture. Across Central Africa, 64% of AFD’s commitments during this period went to infrastructure and development projects. As Cameroon is the region’s top recipient, its portfolio mirrors this continental trend. Is this allocation Yaoundé’s choice, or a result of negotiations with its donor? The question deserves scrutiny.

SND30 vs. AFD: aligning two strategies

The SND30 sets clear targets: reducing food imports, developing agro-industry, and creating local value chains. Yet the AFD’s reliance on sovereign loans tends to favor high-visibility urban projects—roads, drainage systems, equipment—over agricultural value chains, which require years of diffuse support before measurable results emerge.