Cameroonian business magnate Nassourou Issa has launched a $100 million sugar mill project aimed at transforming the country’s sugar industry and ending decades of market dominance by the Castel family. According to Business Insider Africa and Billionaires Africa, the project is being developed by NASCO Group, with financing arranged by Société Générale and CCA-Bank, enabling civil engineering works to commence on what is expected to become the largest sugar refinery in the region.
The new refinery is designed to produce 300,000 tonnes of refined sugar annually by 2028, significantly surpassing the 120,000 to 160,000 tonnes currently produced each year by Société Sucrière du Cameroun (Sosucam), the Castel family’s long-established subsidiary. Cameroon consumes roughly 300,000 tonnes of sugar annually, leaving the country with a persistent production deficit that has forced authorities to rely on costly imports to meet domestic demand. If completed on schedule, the NASCO facility could eliminate the need for sugar imports while reshaping the country’s agro-industrial landscape.
The timing of the investment is particularly significant as Somdia, the agro-industrial arm of the Castel Group, has indicated its intention to divest its majority stake in Sosucam, creating an opportunity for new domestic players to expand. Beyond challenging the long-standing market leader, the project is expected to stimulate local sugarcane cultivation, strengthen agricultural value chains, create thousands of direct and indirect jobs, and boost food security by increasing domestic production capacity. Industry observers note, however, that achieving the targeted output will require substantial investment in sugarcane plantations and an efficient upstream supply network to sustain operations at full capacity.
For Cameroon, the investment represents one of the country’s largest privately funded agro-industrial projects in recent years and reflects a broader trend of African entrepreneurs investing in domestic manufacturing to reduce import dependence. Analysts say the success of the NASCO sugar mill could strengthen Cameroon’s food self-sufficiency, encourage further industrial investment, and position the country as a regional leader in sugar production across Central Africa.
