Introduction

Lenders financing Cameroonian assets take security under the OHADA Uniform Act on Security Interests (Acte uniforme portant organisation des sûretés), which modernised secured transactions law across the OHADA zone and simplified the formalities that previously made taking and enforcing security slow and uncertain.

The main security instruments

The Act provides for a range of instruments: mortgages (hypothèques) over registered real property; pledges (nantissements) over movable assets, equipment, shares and receivables; security over business assets as a going concern; and personal guarantees (cautions). Choice of instrument depends on the asset base of the borrower — asset-light service businesses may support only receivables or share security, while industrial borrowers can offer equipment and real property.

Perfection and registration

Effectiveness against third parties generally depends on proper execution and, for certain instruments, registration. Lenders should budget for perfection at closing and confirm that the underlying borrower assets — particularly land — carry clean, registered title. Title defects in Cameroon frequently undermine security that is otherwise well documented.

Enforcement

The Act provides simplified enforcement routes for secured creditors, including agreed enforcement mechanisms, alongside judicial sale processes. Enforcement strategy should be designed when the security is taken: the choice of instrument and the accuracy of asset descriptions determine how quickly value can be realised if the borrower defaults. Where the borrower becomes insolvent, the OHADA Uniform Act on Collective Insolvency Proceedings governs the creditor’s position.

Conclusion

OHADA security law is workable and lender-friendly when documents are precise and perfection is completed properly. ALPs documents security packages for lenders and borrowers across Cameroon and the CEMAC zone.