African Development Bank Group Backs $3 Million Cameroon-Car Project to Boost Cross-Border Trade and Advance Regional Integration

Cameroon and the Central African Republic (CAR) have launched a $3 million project to boost cross-border trade, strengthen regional value chains, expand economic opportunities and strengthen resilience in communities along the Douala-Bangui and Douala-Kusari corridors. The project is supported by the African Development Bank Group and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). The Project to Support the Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (PAMOZ) was launched in Yaoundé on 6 October 2026.

The African Development Bank Group is contributing $2.7 million to the project, which will be implemented over a period of 24 months with technical support from the IOM. It aims to bring more women and young people into cross-border trade, improve border management and promote safe and orderly migration.

Its priority beneficiaries will include traders, entrepreneurs, transport operators and others whose livelihoods depend on the cross-border movement of people, goods and services. Over the next two years, PAMOZ project teams will work with government institutions, small and medium-sized enterprises and border communities.

The launch ceremony was attended by Cameroon's Minister for Trade, Luc-Magloire Mbarga Atangana, the Ambassador of the Central African Republic to Cameroon, Jeannette Marcelle Gotchanga, as well as representatives from the African Development Bank Group, regional organization's, the private sector, financial institutions, civil society, women's and youth organizations, and development partners.

"The launch of the PAMOZ project reflects the government of Cameroon's commitment to harnessing the opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to promote inclusive growth, facilitate trade and strengthen regional economic integration," said Atangana. "By reinforcing the capacities of cross-border trade stakeholders and improving the enabling environment for economic exchanges, this initiative will contribute to unlocking new opportunities for businesses and communities alike."

A strategic corridor for regional trade

The Douala-Bangui and Douala-kasseri corridors are strategic development corridors for both countries and, by extension, Chad. As a landlocked country, CAR relies heavily on its transport and trade links with neighbors to access regional markets. In 2024, the country recorded approximately $984 million in trade in goods, with $779 million of this accounted for by imports alone. On its part, Cameroon, with approximately $5 billion in exports and $8.3 billion in imports, according to the 2025 World Bank data, is a major trading partner with CAR.

"Enhanced cooperation between the Central African Republic and Cameroon is essential to addressing constraints to trade, fostering stronger economic linkages and supporting sustainable development," said Gotchanga. "The PAMOZ project marks an important milestone in our shared efforts to promote greater regional connectivity and prosperity."

Rearising the AfCFTA's ambitions

The Bank Group sees the project as a practical step towards the goals of the AfCFTA, by promoting trade and the development of regional value chains.

"For the African Development Bank Group, regional integration is not only about moving goods across borders. It is about enabling people, businesses, skills and investment to move more freely, connecting African enterprises to regional value chains and creating opportunities for jobs and inclusive growth," said Pierre Ollame Bekale, Country Programme Officer for Cameroon, representing the Director General for Central Africa. "This is how we can turn the ambition of the AfCFTA into tangible opportunities for people and businesses across Africa."

Making human mobility a driver of development

PAMOZ will also promote safe, orderly and regular migration, a key contributor to economic development and regional integration.

"Human mobility is a powerful enabler of economic development, trade and regional integration," said Abdel Rahmane Diop, IOM Chief of Mission in Cameroon. "IOM is proud to support the governments of Cameroon and the Central African Republic in leveraging mobility as a catalyst for opportunity, resilience and shared prosperity."

Read the original article on African Development Bank (AfDB).