• A local bank pool will finance Camtel’s CFA52.2 billion network expansion.
• BEAC approved CFA31.3 billion in refinancing via its special facility.
• The funding targets 2G, 3G, and 4G rollout nationwide.

A banking pool made up of Commercial Bank Cameroun (CBC), Afriland First Bank, Union Bank of Cameroon (UBC), and National Financial Credit (NFC) has been selected to support Cameroon Telecommunications (Camtel) in implementing a CFA52.2 billion investment program, or about $93.1 million. According to sources familiar with the matter, the plan focuses on rolling out 2G, 3G, and 4G networks in regional and divisional capitals, university towns, and major higher education institutions across the country.

To mobilize the funding, CBC, the lead arranger, approached the Bank of Central African States (BEAC), the central bank for the six-member CEMAC region, to activate its Facility B. Unlike Facility A, which manages liquidity injections and withdrawals in the regional banking system, Facility B, now known as the special refinancing facility, is dedicated to refinancing medium-term loans for productive investment. Under its rules, refinancing cannot exceed 60% of a project’s total cost.

At its Monetary Policy Committee meeting on September 29, 2025, BEAC gave its approval for the mobilization of CFA31.3 billion through Facility B. This amount represents 60% of Camtel’s investment program. The loan is structured over seven years, with no grace period, and carries an interest rate indexed to the policy auction rate in force at the time of the decision, set at 4.5%. That refinancing rate was later raised to 4.75% following the Monetary Policy Committee meeting of December 15, 2025.

Two conditions for disbursement

BEAC attached two conditions to the effective release of the funds. First, Camtel must complete, either in advance or in parallel, an increase in self-financing from CFA11.2 billion to CFA20.9 billion, an additional CFA9.7 billion. Second, the borrower must provide a written commitment that the funds will be used exclusively for deploying 2G, 3G, and 4G coverage in regional and divisional capitals and higher education institutions in Cameroon, according to an official BEAC document seen by Business in Cameroon.

In practical terms, Camtel will need to demonstrate CFA20.9 billion in equity financing, its share of the project, before its banking pool can draw the expected CFA31.3 billion from Facility B. The company will also be required to formally commit to allocating the funds solely to network deployment, with no diversion to other uses.

BEAC also set management-related requirements for Camtel. These include raising economic profitability so that operating income represents at least 15%, improving return ratios to a minimum level of 10%, and strengthening equity so that the financial independence ratio consistently covers at least 50% of stable resources.

A little-known financing tool

Despite these conditions, BEAC considers the project eligible for refinancing. The central bank cited the project’s capacity to service debt based on projected cash flows, improving financial ratios, CBC’s track record of fully repaying central bank advances exceeding CFA100 billion, and the guarantees provided.

Established in the 1990s as a strategic tool to support the productive sector, Facility B remains little known within the CEMAC region. BEAC Governor Yvon Sana Bangui said that when the central bank convened all regional banks in Bangui in June 2025 to present the facility, most were unaware of its existence. A review of the past three years showed that only two banks in Cameroon had brought forward two projects financed through Facility B.

To encourage wider use of the mechanism by banks and governments, BEAC is reviewing the regulatory texts governing the facility. The aim is to adapt the tool to current conditions and strengthen its role in supporting the development of the CEMAC productive base.

Brice R. Mbodiam, Business in Cameroon