American companies are chasing close to $7 billion, about CFAF 4 trillion, in trade and investment opportunities in Cameroon, according to the US Embassy in Yaoundé. The figure came out of the first US-Cameroon Bilateral Economic and Commercial Dialogue, held in the capital on 27 August. The money would flow into energy, mining, transport infrastructure, technology, forestry and logistics.
It is a big number. It is also a pipeline, not a signed cheque, and the gap between the two is where most African infrastructure stories are decided.
One project carries much of the weight
The largest item is the proposed Grand Eweng hydropower plant on the Sanaga River, developed by New York-based Hydromine. Cameroon's catalogue of public-private partnership projects, published in April 2026, puts its capacity at 1,080 MW and its cost at CFA1.855 trillion, roughly $3 billion. It is one of 14 priority infrastructure projects the government is presenting to investors.
The sources do not agree on the details. The US Embassy's own statement describes Grand Eweng as a $3.5 billion, 1,040 MW scheme. Either way, the plant has been in development for years, and its timetable remains uncertain. Analysts following the dialogue make the same point: the test is financial close, not the announcement.
Smaller deals show where money is already moving
Beyond the dam, the embassy pointed to commercial activity that is further along. Hoffman Equipment, a New Jersey dealer, has an $83 million equipment sale that is meant to support infrastructure work and technical training. California's Taylor Guitars is sourcing ebony from Cameroon with local partner Crelicam under a sustainable supply arrangement. Mining also featured, with critical minerals named as an area of shared interest and sector reform on the agenda.
What the two governments actually agreed
The concrete outcome was procedural. Both sides agreed to set up joint working groups to carry the work forward, with follow-up talks expected in the United States in 2027. Economy Minister Alamine Ousmane Mey chaired the Cameroonian side. A business climate forum held in Yaoundé the day before fed private-sector complaints into the government talks.
Taxation, shipping and logistics constraints, and reform of the mining sector were the three areas both governments named as needing improvement for US investors. None of these is new. Operators in Douala have raised port delays and tax friction for years, which is why the working groups matter more than the headline sum.
The economy these projects would land in
The backdrop is mixed. Cameroon posted growth of 3.5% in 2025, but the goods trade deficit reached CFAF 2.098 trillion, with imports of CFAF 5.240 trillion against exports of CFAF 3.142 trillion. The finance ministry attributes part of the gap to weaker hydrocarbon exports. In the first quarter of 2026, export revenue fell to CFA606.9 billion from CFA794 billion a year earlier, according to Business in Cameroon.
Cameroon needs foreign capital and reliable power, and a 1,000-plus MW plant would change the second problem considerably. American investors, for their part, are weighing that opportunity against regulatory risk and a long record of delayed projects.
What to watch
Three things will show whether the $7 billion becomes real. First, whether the working groups meet on a fixed schedule and publish anything. Second, whether mining reform produces rules an investor can price. Third, whether Grand Eweng reaches a financing agreement or stays a fixture of the catalogue.
For Cameroonian businesses, the near-term opportunity is probably not the dam itself. Equipment supply, logistics, engineering services and local sourcing tend to move first when a deal does close. Companies in those fields would do well to follow the working groups' progress before the 2027 round of talks in the United States.
