Behind Motazé’s Douala push: the untold dynamics reshaping CEMAC capital markets
When Finance Minister Louis Paul Motazé took the podium in Douala on 24 September 2026 to open the inaugural Diamond Capital Convention, the subtext mattered as much as the speech. His call for a deeper, more dynamic and more attractive financial market was not merely a policy wish — it was a diagnosis of why Cameroon and the wider CEMAC bloc have long struggled to turn available capital into productive investment.
The Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motazé, presided over the opening ceremony of the first edition of the Diamond Capital Convention in Douala on 24 September 2026. The gathering brought together public authorities, investors, financial institutions, businesses, regulators and other market players around the challenges of financing the economy.
In his opening address, the MINFI urged stakeholders in the financial ecosystem to step up capital mobilisation in service of the real economy. Meeting in Douala for this inaugural convention, the main actors of the financial ecosystem exchanged views on how to channel more capital toward productive sectors.
Louis Paul Motazé stressed the need to build a deeper, more dynamic and more attractive financial market — one capable of supporting businesses, infrastructure and the major economic transformation projects of Cameroon and the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC).
Why capital keeps missing the real economy
In his speech, the Finance Minister underlined the importance of strengthening the financial market’s capacity to mobilise the resources needed to finance the real economy. The goal is notably to steer capital more effectively toward businesses, infrastructure and high-growth sectors.
This mobilisation concerns industrialisation, local processing of raw materials, infrastructure, energy and digital technology — all sectors likely to contribute to value creation, economic activity and employment.
The trust factor nobody can afford to ignore
For Louis Paul Motazé, developing the capital market also hinges on diversifying financing instruments and building closer links between the needs of project promoters and the resources available from investors. The aim is to create more bridges between capital and projects capable of durably transforming economies.
The question of confidence also occupies a central place in this dynamic. It rests notably on effective regulation, transparency, the quality of financial information, good governance and investor protection.
Mobilising savings is another major challenge. Developing an accessible and credible financial market should gradually strengthen the participation of economic actors and the wider population in financing productive activity.
Through this first edition of the Diamond Capital Convention, participants are called upon to generate concrete solutions to strengthen financing for the Cameroonian and community economies, support productive investment and accompany economic transformation.
For Cameroon and CEMAC, the challenge is therefore to turn the capital market into a genuine lever of development — transforming available financial resources into productive investments, infrastructure, competitive businesses and jobs.
