The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has granted Cameroonian metallurgy giant Prometal SA a revolving credit line of €40 million, or approximately FCFA 26.2 billion. The agreement was signed in Cairo on September 28, 2026, by Denys Denya, Vice President of Afreximbank, and Hayssam El Jammal, Chairman and CEO of Prometal Group, the parent company of Prometal SA. The credit will enable Prometal SA to finance its working capital requirements, notably to guarantee payment of import invoices for steel billets (scrap iron) and other intermediate steel products needed for its operations.
“This financing is in line with Afreximbank’s commitment to accelerating industrialization by ensuring that the continent makes the most of its natural resources”, said George Elombi, President of Afreximbank.
According to him, by supporting Prometal SA, a leading industrial player in Cameroon, “the Bank is strengthening Africa’s local manufacturing capacities and creating national and regional value chains.”
For his part, the CEO of Prometal Group noted that the current strategy of the industrial group he leads is based on a mixed approach: on the one hand, vertical integration that allows control of the entire value chain, from the processing of raw materials to finished products, and on the other, horizontal expansion aimed at diversifying market segments.
Today, we are taking a new key step in our growth thanks to this strategic partnership with Afreximbank, which demonstrates the Bank’s steadfast commitment to fulfilling Africa’s industrial ambitions. I would therefore like to reaffirm our commitment to honoring the trust Afreximbank has placed in us, and I look forward to building a solid and lasting partnership that will support our industrial development and our expansion across Africa, while further contributing to the industrialization and economic transformation of our continent
he said during the ceremony.Hayssam El Jammal:
We are taking a new key step in our growth thanks to this strategic partnership.
Prometal SA is the operational arm of a leading, fast-growing industrial and metallurgical group. Over the years, the group has successfully made substantial investments aimed at developing local production capacities and replacing products previously imported from international markets, such as rebar, domestic gas cylinders, and steel frameworks.
Built around its steelmaking activities, Prometal Group has become a major player in Cameroonian industry. The group currently operates five plants with a total annual capacity of approximately 360,000 tonnes of finished steel products, ranging from construction materials to small agricultural tools. It also controls Novia Industries, an agro-industrial unit producing vegetable oil, soap, and other food products such as milk and chocolate.
The group is expected to soon inaugurate its seventh plant, operated by its subsidiary Proalu SA. Dedicated to aluminum processing, this investment, estimated at around FCFA 88 billion, should strengthen Prometal Group’s leadership in heavy industry in Central Africa.
With this new plant set to come into service in 2027, the leader of the steel and metal processing industry in Central Africa estimates its electricity needs at 90 MW. To meet this demand, the industrial group negotiated and obtained authorization from the Cameroonian government to source power directly from the dams managed by the state-owned asset-holding company Electricity Development Corporation (EDC). However, the formalization of this agreement is still pending.
