Yaoundé. The Finance Week 2026 has come to an end. Organized on April 29 and 30, 2026, the event brought together public and private decision-makers. At the opening, Brigitte Krubi, mission officer at the Division of Economic and Financial Affairs of the General Secretariat of the Presidency, delivered the official speech, demonstrating the direct involvement of the state summit in redefining the financing model of the CEMAC.
By her side, the figurehead of public finances, Louis Paul Motaze, Minister of Finance of Cameroon, sponsor of the event, whose presence highlights the budgetary and strategic stakes of this sequence.
In this highlighted setting, the monetary dimension did not remain in the background. Thus, Yvon Sana Bangui, Governor of the Bank of Central African States (BEAC), provided a precise macroeconomic analysis of a CEMAC region that is both resilient and vulnerable: contained growth, controlled inflation, but persistent dependence on hydrocarbons and increased exposure of banks to sovereign risk.
The banking sector was well represented, like Célestin Guela Simo, CEO of Afriland First Bank, the official sponsor, who methodically reminded that “there will be no sustainable emergence of the CEMAC without a strong private sector”, calling for a profound transformation of savings into productive investment. This position was extended, on a more strategic level, by Diakarya Ouattara, CEO of Coris Holding, speaking on behalf of Idrissa Nassa, founder and President of the group, who emphasized the need to make Finance Week a true “catalyst for economic decisions”. Present in all UEMOA countries, in Guinea and Cape Verde, Coris Bank has made a remarkable breakthrough in the CEMAC zone since Chad, with ongoing discussions for establishment in Cameroon and Gabon.
Beyond its aggregating nature, Finance Week is also a master class space. In this regard, Richard Evina Obam, CEO of the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations du Cameroun (CDEC), posed one of the most structuring diagnostics of this edition: a financial system still too short-term, dominated by state financing and lacking long-term investors, hence the urgency to reposition deposit institutions as a pivot for economic transformation.
In the background, a figure emerges as the discreet architect of this convergence: Émile Fidieck, Publisher of EcoMatin, whose role in the rise of Finance Week has been praised by the speakers, notably.
Also present were Marie-Laure Edo, CEO of BICEC, Alvine Tiwoda, CEO of CCA Bank, as well as representatives of BGFI Bank, SCB Cameroon, NFC Bank, and Orange Cameroon, alongside financial administration officials (Treasury, Customs, monetary cooperation).
Fundamentally, Finance Week 2026 was less of a simple forum than an exercise in aligning the economic elites of the CEMAC. A stage where the state, banks, and investors have, for once, agreed to speak the same language: that of transformation. The challenge now is to capitalize on this.
List of winners of the 2026 edition of Finance Week:
– Cadyst Group, “Acquisition of the Year 2025” award.
– Afriland First Bank, “Banking Leadership in Cameroon” award.
– KEDA Cameroon Ceramics Ltd, “Industrial Leadership” award.
– Groupe Coris Holding, “Champion of African Financial Integration” award.
– Central African Stock Exchange (BVMAC), “Special Jury Prize of Finance Week” award.
– La Régionale Bank, “Special Jury Prize of Finance Week” award.
– SOFTCARE Cameroon, “Industrial Excellence” award.
