Corporate investment activity in Cameroon surged sharply in 2024, rising by 28.5 percent year on year, according to official data published by the National Institute of Statistics (INS), underscoring strong spending momentum among companies despite a notable shift away from physical capital investment.
The increase marks a significant acceleration from 2023, when corporate investment grew by 8.8 percent, the INS said in its report on the “economic and financial situation of companies in 2024,” released on January 21, 2026.
The data covers spending by companies on the acquisition of equipment, software, financial assets and other investment items. While overall investment expanded robustly, the statistics office noted a clear change in the composition of corporate spending, with firms increasingly favouring intangible and financial investments over traditional physical assets.
“The investment momentum recorded in 2024 was marked by a reorientation of corporate investment strategies, increasingly focused on the acquisition of financial assets at the expense of physical equipment,” the INS said.
According to the report, companies are prioritising transactions such as equity purchases, subscriptions to public offerings, private placements and other financial operations, rather than investing in machinery and equipment aimed at expanding or modernising production capacity.
This strategic shift reflects both evolving market opportunities and changing risk preferences among firms operating in Cameroon, analysts say. It has also contributed to increased activity across the financial sector, including asset management firms, capital markets and public debt instruments.
The INS said the trend helps explain the sustained dynamism of the Treasury securities market overseen by the Bank of Central African States (BEAC), as well as the growing success of fundraising operations conducted on the Douala Stock Exchange. These operations have involved not only member states of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), but also private companies and regional institutions seeking to raise capital.
Asset management firms have similarly benefited from the shift, with higher inflows linked to corporate demand for diversified investment vehicles and financial instruments offering relatively attractive returns in a context of constrained production growth.
More Read
While the pivot toward financial investments has supported capital market development and liquidity in the financial system, it has also raised concerns about its implications for the productive capacity of the economy.
The INS warned that the reduced emphasis on physical investment is beginning to affect the quality and renewal of companies’ production assets. In 2024, the “production base of companies deteriorated slightly,” the report said, with the aging rate of fixed assets rising to 60.6 percent, up from 60.3 percent in 2023.
The aging rate measures the extent to which fixed assets such as machinery, industrial equipment and infrastructure have lost value over time due to wear, obsolescence and depreciation. A rate of 60.6% indicates that production assets have lost more than three-fifths of their initial value, pointing to limited renewal and modernization.
“In other words, production assets have lost nearly six-tenths of their initial value, due mainly to wear and obsolescence,” the INS said.
Economists say the trend highlights a structural challenge for Cameroon’s private sector. While financial investments can improve balance sheets and generate short- to medium-term returns, insufficient reinvestment in productive assets could constrain output growth, competitiveness and job creation over the longer term.
The data comes at a time when Cameroonian authorities are seeking to accelerate industrialisation and diversify the economy away from traditional sectors, including oil, gas and agriculture. Achieving these objectives will require sustained investment in productive capacity, technology and infrastructure, analysts say.
Despite these concerns, the strong headline growth in corporate investment reflects continued confidence among firms operating in Cameroon, supported by macroeconomic stability, expanding financial markets and improved access to regional capital.
The INS said the challenge for policymakers will be to encourage a better balance between financial and physical investment, ensuring that capital market development goes hand in hand with the renewal of production assets needed to support long-term economic growth.
