US companies pursue a $7bn Cameroon project pipeline spanning energy, minerals, infrastructure and technology, but major deals remain prospective
Keypoints:
- US-linked projects valued at nearly $7bn
- Two projects account for most of $7bn
- Several major investments remain under discussion
AMERICAN companies are pursuing nearly $7bn in investment and trade opportunities across Cameroon, according to the US Embassy in Yaoundé, putting energy, critical minerals, infrastructure and technology at the centre of a significant new American commercial push into the Central African economy.
The headline figure, announced after the inaugural US-Cameroon Bilateral Economic and Commercial Dialogue on August 27, comes with an important qualification: it represents projects at different stages of development rather than $7bn in capital already committed or invested.
Big-ticket energy leads pipeline
The largest project is Hydromine’s proposed $3.5bn Grand Eweng Hydropower Project, a 1,040-megawatt scheme planned for the Sanaga River.
New York-based Hydromine has been pursuing the development with Cameroonian authorities for years, meaning Grand Eweng is not a new project created by the August dialogue. Its financing and construction timetable remain central tests of whether the latest commercial push can translate into execution.
Another potentially transformative project is a proposed $2bn airport in metropolitan Douala.
Illinois-based A. Epstein and Sons International, alongside financial partner ITF, is in discussions over the airport and a separate $230m programme to build modern theatre halls in Yaoundé, Douala and Bamenda.
Together, Grand Eweng and the proposed airport account for $5.5bn, or nearly four-fifths of the overall $7bn pipeline.
The projects underline Washington’s wider shift towards trade and private investment in its Africa engagement rather than the traditional aid-led model.
Critical minerals sharpen US interest
Mining could prove even more strategically important.
Connecticut-based Tronox and Australia’s Lion Rock are advancing a rutile development valued by US officials at $500m, while Washington-based American Renaissance Minerals is discussing development of the Nkamouna cobalt-nickel-manganese project, beginning with an estimated $85m investment.
But the projects remain at very different stages.
Lion Rock’s rutile development remains at an early stage, with exploration work continuing, while ARM is still working with the Cameroonian government towards a new mining permit for Nkamouna.
That distinction matters as the US challenges China’s dominance of critical-mineral supply chains and seeks greater access to African resources deemed important to industry, defence and energy technologies.
Douala becomes commercial focus
Technology and logistics projects are also clustering around Cameroon’s commercial capital.
Virginia-based Cybastion intends to invest $75m in a project involving an AI-powered data centre and power plant in Douala, while New York fintech company Azamra aims to facilitate diaspora investment and accelerate cross-border digital payments.
FedEx and its local Global Service Participant, Globex Cameroun, are developing a framework and timeline for a warehouse at Douala International Airport. New Jersey-based Hoffman Equipment’s $83m equipment sale is intended to support infrastructure development and technical training.
California-based Taylor Guitars and local partner Crelicam are also continuing sustainable ebony sourcing from Cameroon, extending the commercial relationship into forestry.
The initiatives come as US capital increases its exposure to strategic African mining projects.
Business climate becomes the test
Turning the $7bn pipeline into operating projects will depend heavily on Cameroon’s investment environment.
Officials discussed taxation, shipping and logistics, and mining-sector reform as areas where conditions for US investors could be improved. The two governments also agreed to establish joint working groups intended to keep the dialogue moving and address shared commercial priorities.
The United States is due to host the next bilateral economic dialogue in 2027.
For Cameroon, the decisive measure will not be the size of the announcement but how much of the pipeline reaches financial close, construction and production.
For Washington, the initiative provides another opening in Central Africa as competition for infrastructure, digital markets and Africa’s strategic minerals intensifies.