Africa-Singapore Business Forum 2025 : Cameroon’s Debut Showing Wins Hearts Of Would-be Investors

This milestone participation was made possible through the collaborative efforts of the Investment Promotion Agency (IPA) of Cameroon under the leadership of its Acting Director General, Shinwin Soh Boma Donatus and AD Offices and Holding Group LTD, a Business Development & Strategic consultancy firm headquartered in Yaoundé.
AD Offices and Holding Group LTD, under the leadership of its Founder and Executive Director, Marlon AD Mengot, has been representing Enterprise Singapore in Cameroon and the CEMAC region for the past 16 months. The firm has been working closely with Enterprise Singapore to facilitate Cameroon’s participation with IPA, while promoting Foreign Direct Investments into the region.
The three-day forum, themed “Bridging Capabilities, Charting Sustainable Growth,” brought together government officials and business leaders from across Africa and Singapore to explore investment opportunities and strengthen economic ties.
The Investment Promotion Agency (IPA) of Cameroon participated in the Track #1: West & Central Africa panel conversation. Bitchoka Nkak Calvin, Head of the Monitoring-Evaluation and Strategy Division at IPA, represented the agency’s Acting Director General, Shinwin Soh Boma Donatus.
During his presentation, Calvin highlighted Cameroon’s macroeconomic context, investment opportunities, and business climate reforms. He noted that Cameroon’s GDP growth is estimated at 3.8% in 2024 with a per capita GDP of 1,467 CFAF. The country has seen net inward investment of FCFA 571.9 billion in 2024, representing a 15.7% increase compared to 2023.
“Cameroon offers abundant and diverse natural resources, tax and customs incentives, and high agricultural potential with 7.2 million hectares of arable land,” Calvin stated during his presentation. He also emphasized recent business climate reforms, including the digitalization of public services and infrastructure development in priority sectors.
The Cameroonian delegation included several businesses mobilized by AD Offices and Holding Group LTD in partnership with IPA, Cameroon. 

Strengthening Institutional Linkages
In her opening address, Singapore’s Minister Grace Fu emphasized the importance of strengthening institutional linkages between Africa and Southeast Asia. “As two similarly large, young and fast-growing regions, Africa and Southeast Asia can work together and build on complementary strengths. Africa’s abundant resources and young population combined with Southeast Asia’s growing consumption and manufacturing capabilities create immense potential for collaboration,” Fu stated.
She also highlighted Singapore’s efforts to expand connections through trade agreements, mentioning that Singapore’s Bilateral Investment Treaties with Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria had formally entered into force that week.

Africa As A Viable Market
The President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, delivered a keynote address underscoring Africa’s position as a dynamic emerging market. “Africa and Singapore must be champions of open markets, trusted rules, and practical partnerships that deliver jobs, technology transfer, and shared prosperity for our people,” Mahama stated. “The continent is the world’s most dynamic emerging market today, with 1.4 billion people, young, fast urbanizing, digitally connected, with a rapidly growing middle class.”
Mahama noted that Africa-Singapore trade grew by 50% between 2020 and January ...