Private Placement: Cosumaf Lifts the 20 Billion FCFA Cap
Effective November 1, 2026, issuers in the sub-regional zone will no longer be subject to the 20 billion FCFA limit over a rolling 12-month period, previously applied to private placements. Approved on October 7, 2026, in N'Djamena by the Ministerial Committee of the Central African Monetary Union (UMAC), based on a proposal from the Financial Market Supervisory Commission (Cosumaf), this reform amends the July 2022 regulation.
Listen to the article
Click to generate the audio version
While the amounts sought from qualified investors become unlimited, the regulation introduces an operational safeguard by restricting the number of issues to two per issuer over a rolling 24-month period.
The framework also modifies the demand structure by raising the maximum number of permitted subscribers per transaction from 40 to 99, while setting a minimum entry ticket of 10 million FCFA per qualified investor. To qualify for this status, individuals must notably justify a net worth of at least 50 million FCFA, while legal entities outside institutional categories must show a minimum of 250 million FCFA in equity. On the secondary market, the resale of securities will now take place via a dedicated compartment of the Central African Securities Exchange (BVMAC).
This revision of the regulatory framework comes at a time when certain corporate players, such as Alios Finance Cameroon, have already demonstrated the effectiveness of private placements in financing their domestic growth. By exempting transactions from the heaviness of a public offering while maintaining formal compliance oversight at the regulator level, Cosumaf aims to facilitate the flow of institutional capital.
The ability of regional companies to seize this opportunity will now depend on the quality of their creditworthiness and the relevance of their business models in the eyes of sophisticated subscribers.
Nlend Flore
Related Articles
Comments