• Move ends 20-year wait, aims to boost banking access in under-served market
• Chad’s banking rate at 2.85%, well below CEMAC average of 11.68%

Cameroonian banker and investor Paul Kammogne Fokam, founder of Afriland First Group, met with Chadian President Mahamat Déby Itno on Sunday, November 9, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Fokam, accompanied by Guy Laurent Fondjo, the group’s Head of Development, reaffirmed his intention to establish a bank subsidiary in Chad.

After the meeting, Fondjo announced that Afriland would begin operations in Chad within the next few months. He explained that the group had sought to enter the Chadian market for about twenty years but was unable to do so earlier because of local regulations.

“We have been supporting the Chadian economy. We have financed hundreds of billions of CFA francs in Chad despite not having a physical presence,” Fondjo said.

The meeting follows Afriland’s recent regulatory approval from the Central African Banking Commission (COBAC), the CEMAC-zone banking regulator, allowing it to open subsidiaries and expand its regional presence.

Afriland First Group is one of three financial institutions in the zone to receive initial authorization to open bank subsidiaries across the CEMAC region, under a unified licensing framework adopted on December 20, 2024. The regulation allows any credit institution licensed in one member state to operate and open branches in another.

Afriland’s interest in Chad was first made public in May 2022, when Afriland First Bank CEO Célestin Guéla Simo met with Chad’s Minister of Finance and Budget. At the time, Simo cited Chad’s economic potential, strategic location, and young, dynamic population as key reasons for entering the market.

Chad’s banking penetration rate stands at just 2.85%, far below the CEMAC average of 11.68%, according to the 2023 Report on Payment Services in CEMAC published by the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) on October 15, 2025. Afriland First Bank’s arrival is expected to intensify competition and broaden the range of banking services available in the country. Another Cameroonian lender, CCA Bank, is also preparing to enter the Chadian market.

Chamberline Moko