Cameroon’s foreign investment and exports tumble amid regional slowdown

Cameroon attracted $332 million in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2025, down from 532 billion FCFA the previous year, yet it remained the top recipient of FDI in Central Africa, overtaking Chad. The decline mirrors a continent‑wide fall in FDI, which dropped from $94 billion in 2024 to $70 billion in 2025. Analysts cite a weak business climate and higher global interest rates as contributing factors.

In the first quarter of 2026, Cameroon’s export earnings fell 23.6 % year‑on‑year to 606.9 billion FCFA. The sharpest contraction occurred in cocoa, whose revenues plunged 37.7 % to 199.3 billion FCFA as international cocoa prices fell about 60 %. Oil earnings dropped 14.4 % despite a 42.8 % rise in Brent prices, and gas revenues fell 28.4 % amid higher European gas prices, highlighting a volume‑driven downturn across several key sectors.