Cameroon has still not formally asked to open talks on a new Cameroon IMF programme, even though its 2027 financing plan counts on CFA300 billion of budget support that depends on one. Finance Minister Louis-Paul Motaze said after the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings that he had made the case to the country's authorities and was "waiting for their response before starting discussions." He gave no date.
The details come from Business in Cameroon and its French-language sister site Investir au Cameroun, which both published the story on 21 October 2026 under the byline of Amina Malloum.
Why a new Cameroon IMF programme matters for the 2027 budget
The 2027-2029 medium-term economic and budgetary framework, published in July 2026, projects CFA300 billion in budget support for 2027. That is about 9.5% of the CFA3,161.5 billion the state expects to need to finance itself next year.
Budget support from partners such as the World Bank, the African Development Bank and France usually follows an IMF arrangement. The framework does not say how much of the CFA300 billion would come from the Fund itself and how much from the others. Either way, the money is hard to unlock without a programme in place.
Cameroon's last IMF arrangement expired in July 2025. That month, the IMF Executive Board completed the eighth and final review and granted waivers for some missed fiscal performance criteria. Motaze first called for a successor programme at a cabinet meeting on 30 October 2025. According to Investir au Cameroun, the file was then to go to President Paul Biya for a decision. A year later, no request has been filed.
What the numbers say
The figures quoted by the finance ministry and the IMF tell slightly different stories.
- Public debt: 44.7% of GDP at end-March 2026, according to the government's framework, projected to reach 50% in 2027. Motaze describes debt as "under control" and below 45%.
- Debt risk: after a post-financing assessment mission in September 2026, IMF staff again rated Cameroon at high risk of debt distress.
- 2027 deficit: the presidential budget circular of 12 October 2026 sets the overall deficit, grants included, at 2.7% of GDP.
- CEMAC reference balance: the 2027-2029 framework puts it at -2.3% of GDP, against a regional floor of -1.5%.
- Financing need for 2027: CFA3,161.5 billion, of which CFA300 billion is expected as budget support.
Fuel subsidies add pressure. Higher oil prices have raised the cost of keeping pump prices unchanged, a policy the government has so far maintained. We covered the gap between the 2.7% deficit target and the IMF's preferred path in our piece on the 2027 budget deficit target and the IMF ceiling.
The regional angle
Cameroon is not negotiating in isolation. CEMAC heads of state, meeting in Brazzaville on 22 January 2026, urged member countries to negotiate new IMF programmes or continue existing ones. Finance ministers repeated that commitment when they met their French counterparts in Paris on 17 March.
Motaze said Cameroon accounts for nearly 46% of CEMAC's GDP. That weight matters for the shared reserves held at the regional central bank, BEAC, which backs the CFA franc's peg to the euro. When the largest economy in the zone runs without a Fund programme, its partners notice.
An official interviewed in Yaoundé on 28 September 2026 told Investir au Cameroun that a breach of the 1.5% threshold by one CEMAC member could block new IMF deals for all of them. The two outlets point out that no public IMF document confirms such a collective rule, so it should be treated as unverified.
Recent signals from markets
The delay comes at an awkward moment. Fitch cut Cameroon's sovereign rating to B- this month, and the country's Eurobond yield hit a record 10.65%, as we reported in our story on the Fitch downgrade. A new IMF arrangement is one of the few things that could reassure bond investors quickly. Without one, external borrowing is likely to stay expensive.
What happens if talks do not start
If the government does not request negotiations soon, the 2027 budget faces three practical risks:
- A financing gap. CFA300 billion would have to be found elsewhere, most likely on the regional securities market, where Cameroon already competes with other CEMAC treasuries for the same bank liquidity.
- Delays to partner money. World Bank and AfDB budget operations are usually timed around IMF reviews. A late programme pushes their disbursements into the second half of 2027 or later.
- Pressure on spending. If financing falls short, the usual adjustment is to slow investment spending and build up arrears to suppliers, which hurts local contractors first.
Negotiating a programme also takes time. Staff missions, a staff-level agreement and Executive Board approval typically run over several months. A request filed in November would leave little room before the 2027 budget year begins in January.
What to watch
- Any formal request from Yaoundé to the IMF, which would normally be followed by a staff mission.
- The 2027 finance bill, due before parliament in November, and whether it keeps the CFA300 billion support line.
- Fuel subsidy spending, which the government publishes monthly.
- BEAC reserve figures and any statement from CEMAC finance ministers on programme coverage across the zone.
For companies that sell to the state, the takeaway is simple. Budget support pays for a large share of domestic payments to suppliers. A delay in IMF talks makes 2027 payment timelines less certain, and firms with large public-sector receivables should plan their cash needs accordingly.
Sources: Business in Cameroon and Investir au Cameroun (21 October 2026), Cameroon 2027-2029 medium-term economic and budgetary framework, IMF Executive Board statements.
