Cameroon’s richest woman building $30m brewery, her most ambitious move yet beyond cocoa empire
Kate Fotso, the billionaire CEO of Telcar Cocoa and a prominent, politically influential business figure in Cameroon, is significantly expanding her business empire by entering the brewing industry. She has reportedly committed 17 billion FCFA ($30m) to build a new beverage production facility in Souza, in the Littoral region. This massive investment is expected to be one of Cameroon’s largest private industrial projects in recent history.
According to the Cameroon Concord, the scale of the commitment highlights Fotso’s clear ambition to move beyond her strong position in the cocoa export sector. Telcar Cocoa has long been a key player in Cameroon’s agricultural economy, spanning over two decades.
A brewery of this size would make Fotso a major force in Cameroon’s beverage market, which is currently dominated by established companies like Brasseries du Cameroun. It is unclear whether she plans to directly compete with these companies or create a specific role for herself in regional production.
According to Business Insider Africa, Telcar Cocoa holds a dominant position in Cameroon’s cocoa sector, a key source of the country’s foreign exchange earnings. At its peak, the company was Cameroon’s largest cocoa trading corporation, accounting for nearly 35% of the nation’s total cocoa exports.
The company’s significant market position places it at a crucial point in the world’s cocoa supply chains, providing beans to leading chocolate producers across Europe, North America, and Asia. During the 2023-2024 cocoa season, Telcar Cocoa reportedly managed the movement of more than 100,000 tons of cocoa beans.
Fotso, dubbed the “iron lady of the cocoa sector” by the cocoa trade press, established the company in the mid-1990s after spending five years working at the American agricultural trading giant, Cargill. Cargill holds a 49% stake in the company, as reported by Billionaires.Africa.
Fotso also took over investments belonging to her husband, André Fotso, who died in Paris on August 2, 2016, after founding the TAF Investment Group and leading the Cameroonian Employers’ Association.
Fotso is additionally a shareholder in Ecobank Cameroun, and, as the representative for exporters, she sits on the board of directors of the autonomous port of Kribi, a position given to her by President Paul Biya.
READ ALSO: University of South Africa makes history as first African university to own an airport
Fotso’s rise within Cameroon’s business elite has consistently faced intense scrutiny. Her close, publicly known ties to the Biya regime and the ruling CPDM party-state apparatus have fueled enduring concerns regarding the mechanisms of wealth accumulation among the powerful in Cameroon.
With a net worth of $252 million, or approximately 150 billion FCFA, Forbes Africa has ranked her among the 20 richest people in Francophone Africa.
Meanwhile, Fotso’s business expansion beyond the cocoa sector started before her Souza brewery venture. In September 2023, she established Bridge Riviera Development and Hospitalities Plc (BRDH) in Douala, capitalized at 100 million FCFA and set for a 99-year duration.
BRDH is officially mandated to own and manage luxury hotels in Douala and throughout Cameroon, engage in real estate and land development, and provide hospitality, catering, entertainment, and concierge services. However, the company has yet to announce a timeline for opening any specific hotel.
