Cameroon’s Banking Sector: PART 1 – A New Commercial Bank, AFIRCA GOLDEN BANK, Has Gone Operation With Five Branches

AFRICA GOLDEN BANK has been created with local capital. The principal promoter or shareholder is the business magnate, Samuel Foyou, and other shareholders include a former Minister of Finance.

A new commercial bank in Cameroon, Africa Golden Bank, has taken off with five branches; three of which are in the nation’s economic capital, Douala, one in the nation’s capital, Yaounde, and one in Bafoussam, the West regional headquarters. To be precise, the personnel of Africa Golden Bank effectively started work on July 15, 2024 and on July 26 the bank opened its doors to the public for business.

Africa Golden Bank has finally seen the light of day after the promoters patiently went through the long procedure and a times suffered unexplained delay at some stages.  The most difficult stage of the process to open a commercial bank in any member country of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community, CEMAC, is normally at the level of Central African Banking Commission, COBAC, which is the banking regulator in the Central Africa Sub – region.  After a long scrutiny of the file of the African Golden Bank Project, COBAC finally gave its authorization in March 2023.

 There Was A Delay At Two Stages

The last major stage was for the Cameroon Government to give its own visa considering that African Golden Bank is in other words a Cameroonian bank. That normally was not supposed to take a long time, since COBAC had given its approval. But for unknown reasons, the file of the African Golden Bank was blocked at the Prime Minister’s office for six months. It should however be noted that the file was at the Prime Minister’s Office as the office of the Head of Government. In treating such a file, the Prime Minister’s Office depends more on the Ministry of Finance which is the technical ministry. When the Government is okay with the file, it is actually the Minister of Finance that issues the agreement to the bank on behalf of the Cameroon Government.

Meanwhile the authorization of the Cameroon Government for Africa Global Bank to operate in the country was finally issued in September 2023 to the Cameroonian billionaire and principal promoter of the bank, Samuel Moter Foyou. In the file of African Golden Bank that was approved by both COBAC and the Cameroon Government, Jean Michel Monayang was presented as the Pioneer General Manager of the bank, with Hippolyte Togatio as Deputy General Manager.

After obtaining the approval of the Cameroon Government in September 2023, observers had expected Africa Golden Bank to go operational by the end of the 2023 or in early 2024. It should be noted that COBAC gives a new commercial bank a maximum of eight moths to go operational, after it receives the final authorization.  This meant that Africa Global Bank was supposed to go operational latest in May 2024. But then another surprise came with an unexplained delay for the takeoff. It is however very likely that the Board of Directors of the bank explained the reason for the delay to COBAC, and that was why the Commission was silent.

The Shareholders Of Africa Golden Bank    

As aforementioned, the principal shareholder or promoter of Africa Golden Bank is the business mogul, Samuel Moter Foyou, who is commonly referred to in the local media as Cameroonian billionaire.  He owns a group of over 10 enterprises that operate in a number of sectors. Worth noting that among Samuel Foyou’s several enterprises is a brewery, BRASAF (Brasseries Samuel Foyou). He is also the proprietor of the only five- star hotel in the nation’s economic capital, Douala, known as Krystal Palace Hotel, which was officially inaugurated by Prime Minister Chief Dr Joseph Dion Ngute, in December 2021. It was the hotel that hosted the CAF delegation during the African Cup of Nations, AFCON, which took place in Cameroon from January 9 – February 6, 2022.  Samuel Foyou is also proprietor of FERMENCAM, UNALOR, SOTRASEL, PLASTICAM and BSF (Biscuterie Samuel Foyou), and so on. A billionaire indeed!

Meanwhile, dependable sources have disclosed that other major shareholders and members of the Board of Directors of the Africa Golden Bank include two other Cameroonian business magnates, Sylvestre Ngouchingue, who is the PDG of CONGELCAM, and Timothe Gamo who is the PDG of Groupe COGENI. Another Cameroonian shareholder of the Africa Golden Bank is Edouard Ekame Mfoumou, a former member of Government. There are probably for strategic reasons a few foreign shareholders of the Africa Golden Bank, notably the Senegalese group, Sanu Assurances (Sanu Insurance Company), though they constitute a minority.

A Region Of Billionnaires!

Meanwhile from the look of things, it can be said that Africa Golden Bank is a financial institution created mainly by some sons of the West Region of Cameroon. Samuel Foyou, Sylvestre Ngouchingue and Tomothe Gamo are all from the West Region. Worthy of note that the principal promoter or shareholder of one of the leading commercial banks in Cameroon, Afriland First Bank, Paul Fokam Kammogne, is also a son of the West Region. A region of billionaires!