From the small town of Kekem in the West region, a great businessman is emerging with an ambitious plan of making Africa a viable business destination. Forty six years old Emmanuel Neossi is the head of NEO Industry Group of companies dealing in the agro-industrial, real estates , transit and food distribution sectors. Little was known about the businessman when he took the country’s economy by storm launching a cocoa processing factory in his home town Kekem. Today he is at the heart of the Neo Congo Mall in the heart of Douala
Not many people in Cameroon would leave school and head to the farm. But Emmanuel Neossi would shock his family and close friends when he abandoned his studies in Accounting in 1993, opting to focus in Agriculture. He found love in the cocoa sector and would later receive a boost from his mother who increased his farm by 50 hectares.
That gift would proof a gold mine for the young ambitious entrepreneur who would work on his farm. By 2003 he started the buying and selling of cocoa beans to exporters.
In 2012, Neossi became Manger of American cocoa trading outing ADM . And this first international opportunity enabled him to create his first company Producam which has now expanded to food distribution (NEO Food Distribution), Logistics (All Logistics Transport) and real estate ( SCI NEO and Co)
Producam achieved a turnover of 260 million euros in 2018, ranking as the country’s third cocoa exporter behind Telcar Cocoa and Olam. Much of the success of Producam lies in transformation. On 26th April 2019, the Prime Minister of Cameroon, Joseph Dion Ngute was at Kekem to commission the cocoa processing plant of the NEO Group with a capacity of 32000 tonnes. The project described by the Head of Government as “the most innovative” was financed to the tune of 54 billion FCFA.
The NEO Industry Group CEO has also partnered with a French Real Estate and Consultancy company CIOA and now holds 51% shares of the new merger specialized in low-cost housing and road construction in Cameroon. The estate company will construct 100 homes in Kekem and will be increased to over 300 in the middle term. About 2500 homes will be built across the country which remains the main target.
The frenzy of businesses by Emmanuel Neossi is telling evidence of a man who is gradually having his sights on the African continent. He is at the epicentre of the 28 billion FCFA rehabilitation of the Neo Congo Mall, expected to generate at least 2000 jobs. This is the fruit of a partnership with the Douala City Council.
