By Etienne Mainimo Mengnjo
Cameroon’s Minister of the Economy, Planning, and Regional Development, Alamine Ousmane Mey, and the newly appointed Director General of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group for the Central Africa Region, Léandre Bassolé, have have discussed ways of strengthening partnership between the two parties.
The is the substance of the audience Minister Ousmane Mey granted Bassolé on August 28 in Yaounde. Speaking after the hour-long, in-camera discussion, Léandre Bassolé expressed his satisfaction for meeting Minister Ousmane Mey who also serves as the Governor of the AfDB Group for Cameroon.
“We had the opportunity to discuss the status of our cooperation, which is in good health, I would say,” he said. “We also discussed the existing portfolio and how the bank can help the government improve and accelerate the implementation of this existing portfolio.”
Bassolé pointed out that they also discussed ways to work together to improve their partnership and approve new operations to support the implementation of the country’s National Development Plan, known as SND-30.
“At this point, we received instructions from the Governor, and I also reiterated the full and complete availability of the bank to provide holistic support for the implementation of the various projects and programs here in Cameroon,” he stated.
Léandre Bassolé, a Burkinabé national, assumed his role as Head of the AfDB’s Regional Bureau for Central Africa and the Cameroon Country Office on May 1, 2025, succeeding Solomane Kone. Before this appointment, he managed the AfDB Country Office in Guinea from 2017 to 2024.
With 16 years of experience at the African Development Bank, he began his career there in 2009 after working as a researcher and development impact specialist at several academic and international institutions, including the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in France and the World Bank Group.
At the AfDB, he has held positions such as Senior Macroeconomist for seven African countries and Country Office Manager for Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Comoros. Most recently, he served as Deputy Director General of the Bank Group’s Office for East Africa, where he co-managed a regional portfolio of $13 billion.
In Cameroon, Mr. Bassolé will be responsible for managing an active portfolio of 28 projects valued at FCFA 1,600 billion. His duties will include monitoring AfDB operations and strengthening partnerships with regional institutions, civil society organizations, and the private sector.
His jurisdiction in the Central African region also includes Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Chad. Here, he will manage a portfolio worth approximately FCFA 11,000 billion ($18 billion), covering 600 operations.
Léandre Bassolé holds a PhD in development economics, a Master’s degree in development economics, a professional Master’s degree in project analysis and evaluation, and a Bachelor’s degree in economics. All of his degrees are from the University of Clermont Auvergne (CERDI) in France.
