HYSACAM: Improving waste management in Cameroon

Today, 15 million people benefit from HYSACAM’s services in Cameroon, which is held up as a model by its West and Central African neighbors. There is, indeed, in Cameroon a strong political will to address an exponential growth in waste due to population growth and a particularly high urbanization rate.

The company Hygiène et Salubrité du Cameroun (HYSACAM), which was set up in 1969, is the main player in private waste management in the country and operates the household waste collection and treatment service in 17 cities in the country under a public service delegation. HYSACAM collects over 1.5 million tons of waste a year, i.e. over 4,000 tons a day (out of about 16,000 tons a day produced in the country). The company operates throughout the waste management chain, from collection to treatment, employs 4,000 people and already has a fleet of several hundred trucks. The service is mainly paid for by the Cameroonian State, which finances up to 90% of the contractual amounts in certain municipalities (including Douala and Yaoundé).

To adapt to the strong growth in Cameroon’s cities and optimize the waste collection service, HYSACAM is renewing part of its vehicles, i.e. some 200 trucks and machines, for an amount totaling FCFA 24.5bn. 

A consortium of three local banks led by Société Générale Cameroun and Ecobank has just allocated an FCFA (XAF) 24.5bn loan, equivalent to EUR 37.35bn, to HYSACAM. PROPARCO is providing a joint and several guarantee of XAF 11,025bn (equivalent to EUR 16.81m) for this first project in the waste collection sector, which is guaranteeing 45% of the loan allocated to HYSACAM by the banks. PROPARCO is thereby facilitating the banks’ operation with HYSACAM and is allowing the local banks to extend the loan maturity to 7 years at a competitive rate for the market.

PROPARCO is helping HYSACAM improve the management of environmental and social risks by participating in financing an audit and in monitoring the plan to improve practices.

The project will ensure the sustainability of 3,700 existing jobs and create 700 new jobs over the next 5 years, with training programs for all HYSACAM employees. The renewal of the fleet with more recent and more efficient vehicles, as well as the dedicated training, will improve the quality of collection, secure the waste collection service and also contribute to improving working conditions for HYSACAM’s employees. 

It is estimated that 6 million Cameroonians will be able to benefit from HYSACAM’s services over the next 5 years. In practical terms, the access to waste collection – an essential service – , will lead to an improvement in health and public health, as well as in the quality of life.