Cameroon Seeks Egyptian Expertise to Strengthen Water and Energy Sectors
Cameroon · INFRASTRUCTURE
Key Facts
- —What happened Cameroon’s water and energy minister Gaston Eloundou Essomba received Egypt’s assistant foreign minister for African affairs, Karim Sherif, in Yaoundé on 10 September 2026 to deepen cooperation on water and power.
- —The offer Egypt presented expertise in dams, hydropower, solar, desalination and water management; the Kikot hydroelectric project, where Egyptian firms are among the pre-selected bidders, was explicitly discussed.
- —Cameroon’s asks More power production through solar and gas, interconnection of the southern and northern grids, rehabilitation of the Lagdo hydropower plant and small hillside dams for rural water access.
- —The backdrop Cameroon renationalized power distributor ENEO in 2026, buying back Actis’s 51 percent for CFA 78 billion (about US$138 million) and renaming it Socadel.
- —What comes next A Cameroon–Egypt business forum is planned in Egypt before the end of 2026 to present mature Cameroonian projects to Egyptian investors.
Cameroon Egyptian expertise is back on the agenda after Water and Energy Minister Gaston Eloundou Essomba hosted Egypt’s African affairs chief Karim Sherif in Yaoundé on 10 September 2026, with dams, hydropower and rural water supply at the center of the talks.
Cameroon is seeking Egyptian expertise to strengthen its water and energy sectors, and the courtship has a fresh date: on 10 September 2026 in Yaoundé, Minister of Water and Energy Gaston Eloundou Essomba received Ambassador Karim Sherif, Egypt’s assistant foreign minister for African affairs, for talks on investment, structural projects and technology transfer. Egypt’s ambassador to Cameroon and representatives of The Arab Contractors, the Egyptian construction heavyweight, attended the meeting.
What the Yaoundé meeting covered
The Egyptian side presented its know-how in dams, hydroelectricity, solar power, desalination and water resource management. The Kikot hydroelectric project featured explicitly among the files discussed — a notable detail, since Egyptian companies are among the structures pre-selected for that project.
Essomba laid out Cameroon’s priorities: raising electricity production, in particular through solar power and the valorization of natural gas; interconnecting the southern and northern grids; and rehabilitating the Lagdo hydroelectric plant in the north. In the water sector, Cameroon wants to develop small hillside dams to improve rural access to water.
Both sides agreed to strengthen training for Cameroonian engineers and officials and to favor technology transfer. A Cameroon–Egypt business forum is envisaged in Egypt before the end of 2026, where Yaoundé would present projects judged mature enough for Egyptian expertise and investment.
A courtship with a history
The Yaoundé meeting builds on a March 2025 encounter in Cairo, where Egypt’s foreign minister Badr Abdelatty told his Cameroonian counterpart Lejeune Mbella Mbella that Cairo was ready to share expertise on dams, electricity generation and supply. Investment legal mechanisms were also on the table then, a signal that both governments want to lower friction for Egyptian companies operating in Cameroon.
The relationship has a commercial anchor beyond diplomacy. Egyptian firms, led by The Arab Contractors, are already active in Cameroonian infrastructure. Egypt-linked renewable developer Infinity Power signed a memorandum of understanding on 14 July 2024 to explore up to 4 GW of solar, wind, hydro, biomass and storage projects in Cameroon by 2035 — an ambition still awaiting its first implementation milestone.
Why Cameroon needs outside help now
Cameroon’s power sector has just gone through a structural break. In February 2026 the state completed the buyback of Actis’s 51 percent stake in electricity distributor ENEO for CFA 78 billion (about US$138 million at roughly 565 CFA francs to the dollar), taking its holding to 95 percent. In May 2026 the company was renamed Société Camerounaise d’Electricité (Socadel), completing the renationalization of distribution.
That leaves the state carrying the financial weight of grid modernization just as demand rises. Yaoundé is shopping widely for partners: in January 2026 Essomba received Emirati investors to discuss power-sector opportunities. The Egyptian track offers contractors with large-scale dam and grid experience at competitive cost — and a government in Cairo eager to project influence south of the Sahara.
What Egypt brings to the table
Egypt’s offer of dam expertise speaks directly to Cameroon’s untapped hydropower potential and its maintenance backlog, symbolized by the aging Lagdo plant. Cairo’s experience managing the Nile system and building major water infrastructure gives it credibility in that niche, and its rapid grid expansion in recent years offers lessons in cutting transmission losses.
The cooperation fits a broader pattern of South-South infrastructure finance that is reshaping the continent, a theme we track in Africa: The New Scramble. For Cameroon, the attraction is faster project delivery without relying solely on traditional Western donors; for Egypt, Cameroon is a gateway into Central African markets.
What to watch next
The first concrete test is Kikot: whether the pre-selected Egyptian firms convert their interest into contracts will show if the Yaoundé talks had commercial substance. The planned business forum in Egypt before the end of 2026 is the next scheduled milestone.
Progress on the Lagdo rehabilitation, the North–South grid interconnection and any revival of Infinity Power’s 4 GW program will determine whether Cameroon’s diversified partner search — Egyptian, Emirati and others — actually delivers megawatts and water points rather than memoranda.
Frequently asked questions
What did Cameroon and Egypt discuss on 10 September 2026?
In Yaoundé, Water and Energy Minister Gaston Eloundou Essomba and Egyptian assistant foreign minister Karim Sherif discussed dams, hydropower, solar, desalination, rural water access and technology transfer, including the Kikot hydroelectric project, where Egyptian firms are pre-selected.
What happened to Cameroon’s power distributor ENEO?
Cameroon renationalized ENEO in 2026, paying CFA 78 billion (about US$138 million) for Actis’s 51 percent stake and renaming the utility Socadel in May 2026.
What renewable plans does Egypt-linked Infinity Power have for Cameroon?
Infinity Power signed a memorandum of understanding in July 2024 to explore up to 4 GW of renewable projects in Cameroon by 2035, spanning solar, wind, hydro, biomass and storage.
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