Biya invites Dangote to economic confab in Cameroon

The Civil Cabinet of president Paul Biya on Monday, April 24, released the final list of invitees to the upcoming economic conference to be held in the nations capital-Yaounde from May 17-18, 2016.

Top on the list is Nigerian businessman and the richest in Africa Aliko Dangote. Cameroonian banker Paul Fokam Kammogne, and Arthur Zang, the inventor of Cardiopad were also included .

Aliko Dangote is Africa's richest man, and founder of Dangote Cement, the continent's largest cement producer.

In 2015 Dangote Cement launched new plants in Cameroon, Ethiopia, Zambia and Tanzania. The company produces more than 30 million metric tons annually, and plans to double capacity by 2018. Dangote owns about 90% of publicly-traded Dangote Cement through a holding company; this percentage exceeds the 80% ownership ceiling set by the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

A spokesman for Dangote told Forbes that the company has until October 2016 to lower Aliko Dangote's stake and plans to do so by then.Other companies in the Dangote Group, which is active in 15 African countries, include publicly-traded salt, sugar and flour manufacturing companies.

Meanwhile, Mr Paul Fokam Kammogne is a Top Cameroonian banker , chairman of Afriland Bank with branches all over Africa, and initiator of the largest microfinance network in Cameroon.

The office of Mr Biya also invited Arthur Zang , a young Cameroonian computer engineer and inventor of Cardiopad , a touch pad tablet that allows for the remote diagnosis of heart problems in rural areas, and winner of the prestigious Rolex prize in 2014.

Other prominent invitees on the list were Manuel Barroso, former president of the European Commission (2004-2014) and now a visiting professor at Princeton University in the United States, Donald Kaberuka, former President of the African Development Bank from (2005-2015), and Pascal Lamy, former director-general of the World Trade Organization from (2005-2013) .