Yaoundé, 5 February 2026 (ECA) – Positioning municipalities as key drivers of industrialization and economic transformation is at the heart of a strategic consultation convened in Yaoundé by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in partnership with the Authority for the Development and Management of Industrial Zones (MAGZI) and United Councils and Cities of Cameroon (CVUC).
The consultation focused on the implementation of Tailored Special Economic Zones (TSEZs), an innovative territorial development approach designed to strengthen local value chains and accelerate industrialization across Central Africa.
The meeting marks a significant step toward operationalizing the Central Africa Industrialization and Economic Diversification Master Plan (PDIDE-AC), which identifies Tailored Special Economic Zones as a strategic instrument for advancing productive transformation, strengthening regional value chains and promoting a stronger “Made in Central Africa.”
As the first country in Central Africa to move toward the concrete implementation of this model, Cameroon is seeking to pilot a new approach to territorial industrialization built on local economic potential, SMEs integration and value addition within production basins.
The consultation brought together government institutions, decentralized local governments, development partners, experts and private sector actors around a shared objective: developing a coordinated framework capable of linking industrialization, local economic development and regional competitiveness.
Discussions identified several priority sectors, including agro-processing, cassava, maize, soybean, rice, aquaculture and livestock, with the aim of strengthening local processing capacity, reducing dependence on imports and developing more competitive value-added products.
Participants also emphasized the importance of building integrated territorial ecosystems that combine industrial infrastructure, financing mechanisms, innovation, entrepreneurship and SME support in order to ensure the long-term viability of future Special Economic Zones.
While municipalities help structure local economic ecosystems, Tailored Special Economic Zones provide an industrial framework adapted to the agricultural, mining, industrial and economic realities of each territory.
MAGZI will play a central role in the planning and technical development of future industrial zones, while CVUC will continue advancing territorial economic profiling and the structuring of municipal and intermunicipal projects.
Through this initiative, ECA and its partners aim to lay the foundations for a new generation of territorial industrial policies in Central Africa capable of fostering inclusive, competitive and sustainable industrialization driven by local territories themselves.
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Zacharie Roger MBARGA - Communications Officer
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
637, rue 3.069, Quartier du Lac, Yaoundé, Cameroon
Tel: (+237) 222504348
E-mail: zacharie.mbargayene@un.org