A tree felled in Cameroon can provide the wood for a guitar manufactured in the United States. Between the two lie the work of sawmill operators, manufacturing decisions, buyers’ requirements and the processes that determine the final product’s price. This is where the industrial challenge of Cameroonian ebony lies. On 8 October 2026, an initiative announced by Taylor Guitars and Crelicam to improve the management of harvesting permits brought sourcing back into focus. For Cameroon, the significance of this initiative also lies in what it reveals: control over a resource does not automatically translate into control over the activities that make it more valuable.

The wood leaves the forest, but where is the value created?

Since 2011, Taylor Guitars and its Spanish partner Madinter have owned Crelicam, a sawmill in Yaoundé. The company processes ebony used, among other applications, in musical instruments, while guitar manufacturing and assembly take place abroad. Cameroon is therefore part of an international industrial value chain, but the activities carried out on its territory do not cover every stage between the forest resource and the finished product sold on the market.

This distribution raises a practical question: which additional activities can Cameroon take control of without losing competitiveness? Precision machining, the manufacture of specialised components and the recovery of value from wood offcuts are avenues worth exploring, depending on costs, available skills and market opportunities. Crelicam’s experience also shows that value depends on the ability to develop new uses for a resource. Taylor Guitars has created markets for ebony with colour variations that some manufacturers previously considered less desirable. Innovation can therefore increase the value extracted from raw materials without increasing logging volumes.

The partnership must go beyond securing the resource

The working group announced in October 2026 is expected to develop a framework for applying for harvesting permits within clearly defined forest management units. This could improve supply predictability and wood traceability. However, no new factory or expansion of processing capacity has been announced. For Cameroon, the next step would be to pursue complementary gains: training technicians, mastering additional processes, developing local suppliers and accessing new markets.

These possibilities are not commitments that have already been secured. They require negotiations based on verifiable objectives and the interests of all parties. Progress could be measured by the skills actually acquired, the increase in operations performed locally and the participation of Cameroonian businesses in the production chain. The challenge is to ensure that the relationship with an international manufacturer helps develop national capabilities beyond its immediate sourcing needs.

Forest sustainability determines long-term industrial prospects

Ebony grows slowly, and its long-term availability depends on the regeneration of forest stands. Since 2016, Taylor Guitars has supported a research and planting programme alongside the Congo Basin Institute and local communities. Figures published for 2025 report that 47,561 ebony trees and 34,421 fruit trees have been planted since the programme began. These results demonstrate a regeneration effort, but they are not sufficient to establish that commercial harvesting is sustainable.

The future permit framework should therefore be assessed in terms of traceability, the condition of forest stocks, compliance with forestry regulations and the renewal of the resource. Defining harvesting zones does not, by itself, guarantee sustainable management. For Cameroon, protecting forest capital and improving industrial productivity must go hand in hand, particularly through the recovery of value from wood offcuts and rigorous monitoring of timber extraction.

From forest resource management to manufacturing power

In Power 237, Dr Guy Gweth, president of the African Center for Competitive Intelligence (CAVIE), places industrial development within an ambition for continental leadership built on the three-part framework of defence, attack and influence. The ebony industry illustrates what is at stake: protecting national interests, gaining ground in higher-value manufacturing activities and strengthening Cameroon’s ability to negotiate its partnerships. This ambition requires forestry policy, training, infrastructure, financing and market intelligence to work together.

The initiative involving Taylor Guitars and Crelicam therefore creates an opportunity, without prejudging its outcome. Securing supply could consolidate an existing activity; industrial progress will depend on the skills developed, the investments made and the markets captured. From the perspective of Power 237 , the challenge is to turn an internationally sought-after forest resource into sustainable manufacturing capabilities that create more value in Cameroon.

The Editorial Staff

Cameroon can expand digital services without necessarily mastering the economic forces that give them value. The first edition of the Digital Finance Fair (SAFINUM), scheduled to take place in Yaoundé from 26 to 28 November 2026, aims to accelerate the transformation of the financial sector through financial inclusion and innovation. Yet behind these ambitions lies a deeper question: how can new financial technologies be converted into productive capacity, competitive businesses and sustainable economic opportunities?

Financial Transformation Must Deliver Real Economic Benefits

Digital payments, financial platforms and new credit services are changing the way businesses operate. However, their value to Cameroon cannot be measured solely by the number of transactions completed electronically. Their real contribution lies in their ability to ease the constraints that hinder production, trade and investment. A business that collects payments more easily does not necessarily become more productive. It must also be able to finance equipment, control costs, access markets and develop its workforce.

This connection between technology and production is critical. Digital financial services should address the needs of agriculture, industry, trade and other economic activities rather than simply transferring existing transactions to electronic platforms. In Power 237, Dr Guy Gweth identifies economic development as one of the foundations of Cameroon’s ambition to become a regional power. From this perspective, digital finance becomes strategically valuable when it expands the productive capacity of the national economy.

Innovation Must Also Build Strong Cameroonian Businesses

SAFINUM’s announced programme includes a hackathon and project presentations designed to connect innovators with investors. These initiatives can help entrepreneurs take an important first step, but a promising idea does not automatically become a viable business. Entrepreneurs must attract customers, secure their products, finance their development and build sustainable business models. Bringing innovation and capital together will only be useful if it leads to actual investment and continued support beyond the event.

The development of locally designed solutions can create new professions, generate skilled jobs and help retain a greater share of economic value within Cameroon. However, businesses need access to the infrastructure, financing and markets required to grow. Economic diversification is not simply about multiplying the number of sectors. It also requires businesses capable of mastering new skills, meeting real needs and offering competitive solutions beyond the domestic market. This is one of the strategic perspectives developed in Power 237.

Human Capital Is Essential to Technological Mastery

Digital finance requires skills that go beyond programming. Service design, data analysis, cybersecurity, risk management, regulatory compliance and marketing are all essential to the viability of financial solutions. Without these capabilities, businesses risk becoming dependent on external service providers or struggling to improve their products. Investment in human capital therefore determines Cameroon’s ability to design, operate and improve the technologies it adopts.

This technological capacity must also foster user confidence. Services that are too expensive, difficult to use or insufficiently secure can discourage adoption, even when the technology itself works properly. Financial inclusion requires accessible solutions that meet users’ needs and provide credible safeguards for security and data protection. SAFINUM could contribute to this process if its discussions give due attention to skills, user needs and the practical conditions required to deploy new solutions.

From Financial Modernisation to Continental Ambition

The ambition of continental leadership outlined in Power 237 rests on an economy capable of diversifying its activities, innovating and supporting competitive businesses. Digital finance can contribute to this trajectory by improving business operations and enabling new economic players to emerge. Its contribution will remain limited, however, if the modernisation of financial services is not accompanied by stronger productive capacity, better infrastructure and the development of national skills.

Access to African markets offers a potential extension of this dynamic. Cameroonian businesses that provide reliable and competitive services could expand into other economies across the continent. Such expansion requires sufficient financial resources, a sound understanding of target markets and the ability to adapt to their regulatory frameworks. Economic expansion does not result from technology adoption alone. It depends on the ability to turn innovation into sustainable, exportable products and services.

Results Must Extend Beyond the Three Days of the Fair

SAFINUM aims to bring together stakeholders from finance, technology and investment. Its contribution to Cameroon’s economy will nevertheless need to be assessed through tangible results, including financing secured by businesses, solutions actually adopted, viable projects, skilled jobs created and measurable productivity gains. The number of participants or prototypes presented may demonstrate interest in the event, but it will not be enough to measure its economic impact.

What happens after the fair will be decisive. Innovations will need to be tested with users, partnerships translated into concrete commitments and businesses supported as they grow. These follow-up efforts could help digital finance strengthen Cameroon’s productive base, develop national skills and support the emergence of businesses capable of competing in African markets. Its strategic value will ultimately depend on its lasting contribution to production, innovation and access to new markets.

The Editorial Staff

  

The 42nd session of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) opens in Yaoundé on 13 October 2026 with a central question for Central African economies: how can economic reforms translate into real industrial capacity? A recent ECA assessment highlights the gap between reforms adopted and their actual impact on businesses. For Cameroon, the challenge goes beyond improving the business environment. It is about turning resources, infrastructure and regional positioning into lasting productive advantages. This is one of the strategic directions explored by Dr Guy Gweth in Puissance 237, which places manufacturing at the heart of Cameroon’s economic power.

Reform Alone Does Not Create Production

ECA’s findings illustrate the scale of the challenge: extractive industries account for 75% of exports from the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), while manufacturing value added per capita remains below CFAF 150,000 in most countries in the region, compared with more than CFAF 1.6 million in Malaysia. The problem is therefore not simply the availability of resources. It is the ability to transform them locally into manufactured goods, skilled jobs and higher incomes.

Business climate reforms can facilitate access to credit, secure transactions and reduce administrative barriers. However, they do not automatically create factories, develop skills or open markets. In Puissance 237, Dr Guy Gweth calls for a shift beyond counting adopted measures towards assessing the productive capacities they make possible. For Cameroon, the decisive test is whether businesses can invest, manufacture and gain market share.

Infrastructure Must Serve a Productive Strategy

ECA also identifies inadequate productive infrastructure as a major obstacle to competitiveness. Unreliable electricity, high transport costs and weak connections between production centres and industrial zones increase operating expenses. Yet infrastructure investment alone does not guarantee the emergence of a competitive industrial base.

A road, port or industrial zone delivers its full economic value when it supports businesses and strengthens supply chains. An industrial zone with limited productive activity, a port poorly connected to inland production centres or a transport network that fails to reduce logistics costs can restrict the returns on public and private investment. The strategic priority is therefore to align infrastructure development with targeted industries, market opportunities and the actual needs of Cameroonian businesses.

Technological Mastery Must Be Built

Financing and skills represent another major constraint. A company may identify a viable market but lack the capital required to modernise its production facilities. Conversely, purchasing machinery does not guarantee effective use if technical expertise, applied research and maintenance capabilities are insufficient. These constraints reinforce one another, limiting the ability of businesses to move into higher-value activities.

Industrial development consequently requires sustained investment in innovation, financing for innovative enterprises and intellectual property protection. These priorities, highlighted in Puissance 237, can help Cameroonian businesses move beyond the mere use of imported technologies towards developing their own capabilities. The objective is not to manufacture everything domestically, but to gain greater control over strategic processes, skills and industrial segments, thereby reducing dependencies and strengthening competitiveness.

Partnerships Must Strengthen Local Businesses

Cooperation with multinational companies, industrialised economies, financial institutions and research centres can accelerate this progress. Such partnerships facilitate access to capital, technology and markets. Their contribution to Cameroon’s economic strength, however, depends on the capabilities they help develop locally.

Their value should therefore be assessed not only through announced investment volumes or short-term job creation, but also through technology transfer, the training of technicians and engineers, the integration of local suppliers and the participation of domestic companies in value chains. This approach reflects the strategic logic of Puissance 237: partnerships become instruments of economic sovereignty when they durably strengthen national players’ ability to produce, innovate and compete in regional and international markets.

From Reform to Industrial Leadership

At the midpoint of the Decade of Economic Diversification (2021–2030), Cameroon must connect reforms, infrastructure, innovation and partnerships to measurable industrial objectives. Without this coordination, improvements in the business environment may have only a limited impact on local processing, business upgrading and export diversification.

In Puissance 237, Dr Guy Gweth frames this ambition through the triptych of defence, attack and influence: protecting economic decision-making autonomy, capturing markets and strengthening Cameroon’s ability to shape its regional environment. All three dimensions require a productive base capable of supporting business competitiveness and consolidating the country’s position in African value chains. The Yaoundé session therefore brings a fundamental imperative back into focus: industrialisation must be treated not merely as a development objective, but as an instrument of national power and continental leadership.

The Editorial Team 

Cameroon and the Central African Republic have launched a $3 million initiative to make cross-border trade easier. Yet smoother trade routes do not automatically translate into stronger economies. The real challenge is to turn access to regional markets into productive capacity, business growth and greater influence. For Cameroon, the question is not simply how to move more goods, but how to secure a stronger position in the regional economy.

A Trade Corridor Is an Asset. Economic Power Is What a Country Makes of It.

On 6 October 2026, Cameroon and the Central African Republic launched the Project to Support the Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) for Cross-Border Trade, known as PAMOZ. Funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and implemented with technical support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the initiative has a budget of approximately $3 million over 24 months. It aims to facilitate trade, strengthen regional value chains and expand economic opportunities for border communities. The project focuses on key routes linking Douala with Bangui and Kousséri.

Cameroon has a valuable geographical advantage: its ports, transport networks and commercial links give it an important role in supplying landlocked countries in Central Africa. But a country can serve as a major transit hub without capturing enough of the economic value generated by that traffic. Transport, processing, storage, distribution and finance all create business opportunities, and those opportunities do not automatically go to Cameroonian companies. The strategic challenge is to turn the country’s location into stronger domestic businesses, more productive industries and a greater ability to shape regional markets. This is the broader ambition behind Power 237, Dr Guy Gweth’s strategic roadmap for Cameroon’s pursuit of continental leadership by 2050.

Who Will Capture the Value Created by Regional Trade?

Opening trade routes creates opportunities, but it also exposes local businesses to competition. As goods move more easily across borders, foreign suppliers may gain access to customers just as readily as Cameroonian producers do. The key question is therefore not only whether trade increases, but which businesses win new customers, which products gain ground and where the value generated by these exchanges ultimately remains.

Cameroon needs to identify the products its neighbours want to buy and determine where its own businesses can compete successfully. Which local producers can supply these markets at the right price and quality? Which goods could be processed locally before export? What prevents small and medium-sized enterprises from reaching buyers across the border? Answers to these questions should help direct investment, business support and training towards real commercial opportunities. The objective is to build companies that can compete beyond Cameroon, rather than assume that improved trade conditions will benefit the domestic economy on their own. This is how access to a regional market can become a source of lasting economic strength.

Winning Markets Requires More Than Easier Border Crossings

A company cannot win a market simply because the road to its customers has improved. It needs to understand demand, know its competitors, meet quality standards, manage costs and deliver reliably. It must also have enough production capacity, working capital and distribution support to serve customers over time. Without these capabilities, a new trade opportunity may remain out of reach, even when border procedures become simpler.

Cameroon therefore needs to move from market access to market conquest. Public authorities can help identify promising sectors and remove obstacles that prevent domestic firms from expanding. Businesses, in turn, must choose the markets they want to enter, prepare competitive products and build lasting relationships with buyers. Producers, processors, transport companies and distributors should be connected so that more of the value chain can develop within the country. This is the offensive dimension of Power 237 in practical terms: economic ambition must lead to concrete positions to win, capabilities to build and results to achieve. The goal is not simply to participate in regional trade, but to strengthen Cameroon’s ability to compete and expand.

Regional Cooperation Must Strengthen Cameroon’s Position

Trade depends not only on roads and transport services, but also on the rules and institutions that govern the movement of goods and people. Delays, unpredictable procedures and weak coordination between border authorities can raise costs and undermine business confidence. Cameroon therefore has a direct interest in making its trade corridors more reliable, anticipating disruptions and ensuring that regional arrangements work for the businesses that depend on them.

PAMOZ provides a framework for cooperation with the Central African Republic and international partners. Its long-term value will depend on whether this cooperation improves conditions for traders and supports stronger economic links between the two countries. For Cameroon, the opportunity is also strategic: to defend the interests of its businesses, help shape the arrangements governing regional trade and build partnerships that deliver lasting economic benefits. This is where influence becomes practical. It is not measured simply by the number of agreements signed, but by a country’s ability to shape its environment and use its relationships to advance clear national priorities.

From a Trade Project to a National Strategy

PAMOZ has a budget of approximately $3 million and a two-year implementation period. Its results should be measured not only by the activities completed or procedures improved, but also by their economic effects. Are border-crossing times falling? Are transport costs becoming more manageable? Are Cameroonian companies reaching new customers? Are local producers expanding their output, and are stronger links developing between businesses on both sides of the border? These are the kinds of questions that can show whether better trade flows are translating into stronger economic performance.

The larger challenge is to connect this initiative with Cameroon’s long-term development priorities. Better transport links will have limited impact if businesses cannot obtain financing, local industries lack the capacity to process goods or workers do not have the skills required by expanding sectors. Infrastructure, industrial development, human capital, innovation and private enterprise must reinforce one another. This is the strategic logic at the heart of Power 237: a country cannot build lasting power through isolated projects alone. It needs a clear national direction, coordinated resources and the ability to turn its ambitions into measurable results.

PAMOZ will not, by itself, change the balance of power in Central Africa. But it raises a question that Cameroon cannot afford to ignore: will the country remain primarily a gateway through which regional trade passes, or will it use that position to build stronger businesses, expand productive capacity and gain greater influence over the markets around it? Power 237, Dr Guy Gweth’s strategic roadmap for Cameroon’s pursuit of continental leadership by 2050, explores this wider challenge through the triptych of Defence, Attack and Influence. For public decision-makers, business leaders and development stakeholders, its central value lies in connecting today’s economic choices with the capabilities Cameroon needs to build for tomorrow. The task is not merely to take part in regional integration, but to turn it into a lasting source of national strength. 

The Editorial Staff