IsDB Highlights CFA62.3 Billion in Cameroon Bank Financing, With Some Deals Already Underway

The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB), highlighted €95 million, or about CFA62.3 billion, in financing operations with four Cameroonian banks on September 14, 2026. The funds target SME and other private-sector financing, although several of the transactions had already reached various stages before the event in Yaoundé.

The operations, presented during the IsDB Group Day in Cameroon, involve AFG Bank Cameroon, Commercial Bank Cameroon (CBC), Afriland First Bank and CCA-Bank. They aim to provide local banks with additional resources that they can channel to businesses.

AFG Bank Cameroon accounts for €20 million, or CFA13.1 billion, while CBC accounts for €10 million, or CFA6.6 billion. Afriland First Bank represents half of the overall amount with €50 million, equivalent to CFA32.8 billion. CCA-Bank accounts for the remaining €15 million, or CFA9.8 billion.

The CFA62.3 billion total, however, does not represent an entirely new financing package secured on September 14. Some of the transactions had already been announced or initiated earlier.

AFG and Afriland Had Already Signed Deals in Baku

AFG Bank Cameroon’s €20 million operation had already reached a formal stage on June 18, 2026, during the IsDB Group’s Annual Meetings in Baku.

The ICD and the bank signed a final term sheet that set the main parameters for a future Sharia-compliant financing facility. At the time, the ICD said the funds would support SMEs in Cameroon, Gabon and Chad, particularly in agribusiness, transportation, energy and healthcare.

The €50 million operation involving Afriland First Bank was also announced during the IsDB Annual Meetings. The ICD described it at the time as a proposed financing facility and said it still had to lead and support its structuring and the mobilization of the required resources.

The facility therefore had not yet reached the stage of a definitive financing line available to the bank. A letter of intent or expression of interest establishes a framework for negotiations but does not necessarily constitute a final loan agreement or a disbursement.

CCA-Bank Had Already Received CFA9.8 Billion in 2025

The CCA-Bank transaction requires an additional distinction. The €15 million presented on September 14 matches a financing line that the ICD had already announced as disbursed to the bank in April 2025.

In an April 24, 2025 statement, the ICD said it had disbursed €15 million, or CFA9.8 billion, to CCA-Bank to finance SMEs, particularly in agribusiness, transportation and healthcare. The facility also aimed to support the development of the bank’s Islamic finance window.

Available information does not establish whether the document presented on September 14 covers a second €15 million facility or refers to the financing already disbursed in 2025. That distinction must be clarified before the CFA9.8 billion can be counted as new financing.

For CBC, the amount announced on September 14 stands at €10 million. Available information does not specify the financial terms, maturity, disbursement schedule or businesses that could benefit from the funds.

Funds Designed to Reach Private Companies Through Banks

The ICD generally provides financing to partner banks, which then extend the resources to SMEs or other companies that meet agreed criteria. Such facilities can give Cameroonian banks access to medium- or long-term resources and help them develop products that comply with Islamic finance principles.

The ICD is not a Cameroonian government program. It is a multilateral institution within the IsDB Group that works directly with private-sector companies and financial institutions. The fact that the documents were presented in Yaoundé under the auspices of the Economy Ministry therefore does not mean the funds pass through the state budget.

The key issue after the September 14 announcements is to distinguish financing already completed from transactions that remain under development. For the latter, the amounts actually disbursed, financing terms and eventual beneficiaries will determine how much new funding reaches Cameroon’s private sector.

Ludovic Amara