CAMEROON : Election Uncertainties Cause Dangote Cement Sales to Plunge in 2025
La voix des entreprises 
Aliko Dangote, CEO of the Dangote Group
(LVDE) — The Cameroonian subsidiary of Nigerian cement giant Dangote Cement saw its sales decline by 14.1% in 2025, affected by the turbulence surrounding the October presidential election. The Douala plant, with an annual capacity of 1.5 million tonnes, sold only 1.2 million tonnes—200,000 tonnes less than the previous year. Despite this challenging environment, the group anticipates a recovery linked to ongoing infrastructure projects and has announced a plan to expand its local production capacity.
The year 2025 proved particularly difficult for Dangote Cement Cameroon. According to the group’s audited financial statements as of December 31, 2025, the subsidiary’s sales fell from 1.4 million tonnes in 2024 to 1.2 million tonnes in 2025, a decline of 14.1%. The management attributes this drop to “election-related uncertainties.” The October 2025 presidential election, marked by protests and unrest in several cities, severely disrupted supply chains and economic activity, particularly in Douala, the country’s economic capital, where the plant is located.
This decline in Cameroonian sales also affected Dangote Cement’s overall African operations. The group reported a 1.6% decrease in African volumes, reaching 11 million tonnes compared to 11.1 million in 2024. The Cameroonian, Senegalese, and South African markets were the most impacted, while Ethiopia faced liquidity constraints due to delays in national budget approvals. On the financial front, pan-African consolidated EBITDA fell by 14.8%, from 345.3 billion naira (≈ 141.4 billion FCFA) in 2024 to 294.1 billion naira (≈ 120.5 billion FCFA) in 2025, reflecting lower sales volumes across several key markets.
Despite these setbacks, Dangote Cement remains optimistic about 2026. The company is counting on the resumption of national infrastructure projects—including the Douala-Yaoundé highway, roadworks, and bridge construction—to boost cement demand. “These initiatives should support medium-term cement consumption,” the group notes. This outlook is accompanied by a major investment project announced on February 28, 2026, in Lagos. A $1 billion USD contract was signed with Chinese company Sinoma Engineering to expand capacities across Africa, potentially benefiting Cameroon. Two options are under consideration: increasing the capacity of the existing Douala plant or reviving the long-delayed project to build a new factory in Nomayos, near Yaoundé, which has been on hold for over ten years.
Present in Cameroon since 2015, Dangote Cement ended the 48-year monopoly of Cimenteries du Cameroun (Cimencam, a subsidiary of LafargeHolcim Maroc Afrique). Its Douala plant opened a competitive market where the company must now balance performance and stability in a sensitive economic and political environment.
This situation highlights the vulnerability of the industrial sector to political uncertainty and underscores the importance of securing infrastructure projects and public contracts to ensure local business growth. Prospects for 2026 appear promising but remain contingent on post-election economic recovery and the group’s ability to execute its announced investments.
Esther Grace
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