Cameroon faces significant african development bank funding cancellation risk

A recent joint portfolio review, conducted in Yaoundé on July 14, 2026, between the Cameroonian government and the African Development Bank (AfDB), has brought to light a substantial financial threat to Cameroon. Seven operations, previously approved by the pan-African institution’s governing bodies and totaling 373.419 million units of account – approximately 292 billion FCFA – are now at risk of cancellation. This precarious situation stems not from a lack of available resources but rather from protracted internal procedures that are stalling project implementation.

It is important to clarify that these are not funds already disbursed that Yaoundé would be required to repay. Instead, these allocations represent loans and grants formally validated by the AfDB, for which either the agreements were not signed within the stipulated deadlines, or no payments were initiated despite legal formalization. Six of these cases fall into the former category, with a seventh experiencing the latter issue. The total financing for which agreements remain unsigned amounts to 339.419 million units of account, equivalent to nearly 265 billion FCFA.

Ngoura-Yokadouma road project: a 207 billion FCFA bottleneck

One particular project stands out due to its immense financial scale. The Trans-border Economic Basins Opening-up and Connectivity Program, designed to fund the development of the Ngoura-Yokadouma road in the country’s East, alone accounts for 265.4 million units of account, roughly 207 billion FCFA. This single operation represents over 71% of the total amount currently exposed to the risk of cancellation. Approved on February 18, 2026, the loan agreement for this crucial project was still awaiting signature at the time of the review.

Five other initiatives are caught in similar administrative gridlock. Among the projects awaiting signature is Phase 2 of the Pan-African University Support Project, which was allocated 3.64 million units of account by the African Development Fund (ADF) and approved on December 19, 2024. Also on this list are the Minkouma hydroelectric development study on the Sanaga River (2.994 million units of account), the CUA-Y2 university campus study project (2.320 million units of account), and the PROSTABLT program for risk prevention through stabilization in Lake Chad (5.095 million units of account).

Adding to this roster is a significant regional endeavor: the transport and trade facilitation project, which includes the construction of a bridge over the Ntem River at the border with Equatorial Guinea. Approved on November 29, 2023, this project combines an AfDB loan of 39.97 million units of account with an ADF loan of 20 million units of account.

PARZIK2: over fifteen months without disbursement

The seventh project exemplifies a distinct yet equally costly problem. The second phase of the Kribi Industrial and Port Zone Access Roads Development Project, known as PARZIK2, indeed has a signed agreement. However, more than fifteen months after its formalization, not a single disbursement had been recorded from its 34 million units of account allocation, equivalent to approximately 26.54 billion FCFA. This dossier, too, has thus entered the high-risk zone, despite Kribi being a pivotal component of Cameroon’s industrial and port strategy.

Project execution cycle twice the standard pace

The data presented during the review paints a troubling picture. The average time from financing approval to agreement signature stands at twelve months, significantly exceeding the AfDB’s standard of three months. Following this, an average of sixteen months is required for entry into force, compared to the expected five months. The initial disbursement typically occurs twenty-one months after approval, against a target of twelve months. This means nearly two years often pass before any funds are actively deployed on the ground.

Alamine Ousmane Mey, the Minister of Economy, Planning, and Regional Development, acknowledged the gravity of this assessment. He highlighted several contributing factors, including inadequate project preparation, prolonged public procurement processes, weaknesses within certain management units, and the delayed mobilization of counterpart funds that the state must provide to complement external resources. These operational inefficiencies not only inflate costs but also erode the country’s credibility with its financial partners.

Since its inaugural operation in Cameroon in November 1972, the AfDB has committed 130 loans and grants, accumulating an estimated 3,345 billion FCFA. The 2023-2028 program outlines eleven operations with an anticipated approval volume of 833.8 billion FCFA. Yet, the crucial challenge remains transforming these commitments into tangible, operational projects. This conversion, for now, represents the weakest link in the financial cooperation between Yaoundé and the pan-African institution.