Central Africa has exceptional economic potential. It is home to the Congo Basin, the second-largest tropical forest on the planet. It possesses significant reserves of hydrocarbons and critical minerals essential to the global energy transition, and has one of the highest hydroelectric potentials on the African continent. Its demographic profile, driven by a young population, represents a key source of human capital for the coming decades.
This potential, however, has not yet translated into the structural transformation that the subregion needs. The extractive sectors account for approximately 75% of total exports from CEMAC countries. Per capita manufacturing value added remains below $250 in most member states, compared to more than $2,700 in Malaysia. Industrial employment is growing only slightly. The integration of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises into regional and global value chains remains limited. Economic growth is evident, but it has not yet translated into productive diversification, sustained industrialization, or job creation commensurate with the subregion’s needs.
This gap between stated ambitions and observed results is not a sign of a lack of strategy. Rather, it highlights an implementation challenge that the Economic Commission for Africa has thoroughly documented and that member states themselves have acknowledged.
In 2017, the adoption of the Douala Consensus by the member states of the Economic Community of Central African States, with the support of the ECA and regional partner institutions, constituted a landmark political act. It endorsed the assessment that growth models based on the export of minimally processed primary resources cannot generate inclusive, resilient, and sustainable prosperity. The Consensus defined a framework for structural transformation centered on industrialization, the development of productive capacities, the strengthening of the private sector, moving up the value chain, and deepening regional integration.
The Decade of Economic Diversification (2021–2030), proclaimed as a continuation of the Douala Consensus, translated these guidelines into a regional action program aligned with the African Union’s Agenda 2063, the Sustainable Development Goals, the African Continental Free Trade Area, and the Master Plan for Industrialization and Economic Diversification in Central Africa (PDIDE-AC). It now serves as the primary framework for accelerating the transformation of the subregion’s economies.
At the midpoint of its implementation, the assessment calls for an uncompromising evaluation. Substantial progress has been made: the adoption of national industrialization strategies, the development of sectoral master plans, the launch of special economic zones, the gradual modernization of legal and fiscal frameworks, and the simplification of business registration procedures. Several countries have undertaken significant structural reforms, and regional frameworks for economic integration have been gradually strengthened.
However, these institutional advances have not yet produced the expected acceleration in productive transformation. The manufacturing base remains narrow. Reforms are progressing faster than their actual implementation. Institutional capacities remain insufficient to ensure effective execution. Coordination between public actors and the private sector remains fragile. And businesses in the subregion continue to face persistent structural constraints: limited access to financing, an unpredictable business environment, a lack of productive and logistical infrastructure, a mismatch between available skills and business needs, and still-insufficient integration into regional and continental markets.
It is in this context that the 42nd session of the Intergovernmental Committee of Senior Officials and Experts will bring together governments, experts, private-sector representatives, and technical and financial partners on October 13, 14, and 15, 2026, in Yaoundé, under the theme: “Accelerating the Implementation of Priority Reforms to Boost the Private Sector in Central Africa at the Midpoint of the Decade of Diversification (2021–2030).”
The choice of this theme is no accident. It is dictated by the logic of the moment. The midpoint of the Decade represents the quintessential strategic turning point: enough hindsight to rigorously assess what has progressed and what is holding things back, and enough time ahead to realign priorities and focus efforts on reforms with the greatest impact. Letting this moment pass without drawing operational lessons from it would be a missed opportunity that the subregion cannot afford.
The session will draw on an in-depth thematic study that analyzes the progress made since the adoption of the Douala Consensus, identifies persistent structural constraints, and proposes seven priority areas for reform, accompanied by concrete levers for acceleration: simplification of the entrepreneurial process through integrated digital one-stop shops, a simpler and more business-friendly tax system, enhanced legal certainty, improved access to financing for MSMEs, better alignment between skills and business needs, an environment conducive to innovation and productive investment, and strengthened governance of public-private dialogue.
The objective of the 42nd session of the CIE is to produce prioritized recommendations, accompanied by explicit responsibilities and identified implementation conditions, enabling Central Africa to enter the second half of the Decade with a targeted, realistic reform agenda that is fully embraced by all relevant stakeholders. Ultimately, the goal is to transform the ECA’s analytical capacity and the political will of member states into operational decisions capable of unlocking the private sector’s potential and accelerating the subregion’s productive diversification.
Concept Note