Cameroon's police run a Huawei-built 'Intelligent Cities' facial-recognition network, launched in Yaoundé (2019), expanded to Douala (2023). Phase one installed 3,000+ cameras toward a 5,000-camera target (EUR50M loan); no data-protection law governs it.
3,000+ cameras
CCTV cameras installed (phase one) (as of 2023–2024)
95 base stations
Base stations installed (phase one) (as of 2023–2024)
5,000 cameras
Target camera network size (stated target)
17 command rooms
Target command rooms nationwide (stated target)
50 EUR million
Expansion loan from Banco Santander (Hong Kong) (March 2024)
39 CFAF billion
Further build-out loan from Eximbank China (December 2025)
Details
Maturity
Scaling
Promoter
Délégation Générale à la Sûreté Nationale (DGSN), with Huawei and CAMTEL
Period
2019-2025
Keywords
public safety, surveillance, policing, biometrics
Context
Cameroon's Délégation Générale à la Sûreté Nationale (DGSN — the national police) operates an 'Intelligent Cities' video-surveillance network built with Huawei and state telecom operator CAMTEL, combining live facial recognition with a centralised command centre. The first command centre opened in the capital, Yaoundé, in 2019; a second opened in the country's largest city, Douala, in June 2023.
Activities
Phase one installed more than 3,000 CCTV cameras and 95 base stations, against a stated target of roughly 5,000 cameras and 17 command rooms nationwide. In March 2024 Cameroon secured a EUR50 million (~US$54 million) loan from Banco Santander (Hong Kong) to expand the network, and by December 2025 a further CFAF 39 billion Eximbank China loan was reported for continued build-out.
Conclusions
Academic coverage (Cairn.info, 2021) documents the system's operation in Yaoundé but notes the absence of a personal-data-protection law governing its use — no independent oversight body, retention limits or accuracy audit for the facial-recognition component were identified in any source reviewed. No crime-reduction or system-accuracy outcome data has been published; available figures describe infrastructure scale and financing only, not measured public-safety impact.
Implementation
Indicative cost
Very high (> €5M) — EUR50 million (~US$54 million) loan from Banco Santander (Hong Kong) secured March 2024; a further CFAF 39 billion Eximbank China loan reported by December 2025 for continued build-out.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — First command centre opened in Yaoundé in 2019; second opened in Douala in June 2023; facial-recognition CCTV piloted before a major, foreign-loan-financed 2024–2025 expansion.
Staffing & skills
Délégation Générale à la Sûreté Nationale (DGSN, national police) operates the network, Huawei and state telecom operator CAMTEL provide technical build-out
Conditions for success
Large-scale foreign financing (Banco Santander Hong Kong, Eximbank China) sustaining continued camera-network expansion
Common failure modes
No personal-data-protection law identified governing the system, per academic (Cairn.info) coverage, with no independent oversight body, retention limits or accuracy audit documented
No crime-reduction or system-accuracy outcome data has been published; available figures describe infrastructure scale and financing only
Commonly funded by
National / regional programmes
Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.
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Data sources
Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.