Taylor Guitars of United States to use ebony wood from Cameroon in manufacturing stringed music instruments
Taylor Guitars will start producing stringed music instruments using wood imported from Cameroon.
The California based guitar manufacturer will be working with a Younde based local partner Crelicam.
Crelicam is a Cameroonian company specializing in responsibly sourced West African ebony for musical instruments and other high-value wood products.
Together with Taylor they are now sourcing ebony wood sustainably from Cameroon.
Taylor Guitars is an American guitar manufacturer based in El Cajon, California, founded in 1974 by Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug and produces mostly acoustic guitars and semi-hollow electric guitars.
The company is one of the largest manufacturers of acoustic guitars in the United States and sells guitars in 65 countries around the world.
As it happens, the Cameroon and the United States officials recently announced approximately US$7 billion in new and expanding American investment and trade opportunities at various stages of development.
This was during the inaugural United States and Cameroon Bilateral Economic and Commercial Dialogue.
These opportunities span sectors including technology, critical minerals, infrastructure, energy, forestry, and logistics.
The two sides also discussed ways to further improve Cameroon’s business climate for U.S. investors, including taxation, shipping and logistics, and mining sector reform.
They also agreed to establish joint working groups to institutionalize the Dialogue and drive continued progress on shared economic priorities and will continue this work ahead of the next Dialogue, which the United States will host in 2027.
These announcements underscore the depth and growing momentum of the U.S.-Cameroon commercial partnership.
In the critical minerals sector, the United States-Australia partnership between Connecticut-based Tronox and Australia-based Lion Rock is advancing a US$500 million rutile project.
On the other hand, ARM, which is a critical minerals development company, based in Washington D.C is in discussions to develop a cobalt-nickel-manganese project in Nkamouna, beginning with an initial investment of approximately US$85 million.
Major infrastructure and energy projects are also advancing.
Illinois-based A. Epstein and Sons International, Inc., with its financial partner ITF, is in discussions on a proposed US$2 billion airport in the Douala metropolitan area and a US$230 million project to construct modern theater halls in Yaoundé, Douala, and Bamenda.
Hydromine, a New York-based infrastructure investor, is working towards the proposed US$3.5 billion, 1,040-megawatt Grand Eweng Hydropower Project on Cameroon’s Sanaga River.
In the technology sector, Cybastion, a Virginia-based technology company, announced its intention to invest US$75 million in a project that includes an AI-powered data center and power plant in Douala.
The New York-based fintech company Azamra aims to facilitate Cameroonian diaspora investment and accelerate cross-border digital payments.
American companies are also pursuing opportunities in forestry, logistics, and infrastructure development.
Tennessee-based FedEx and its Global Service Participant, Globex Cameroun S.A.R.L., are developing a framework and timeline to establish a warehouse facility at Douala International Airport.
New Jersey-based dealer and distributor Hoffman Equipment’s US$83 million equipment sale will support infrastructure development and technical training in Cameroon.
Together, these investment and trade opportunities represent an estimated US$7 billion in U.S.-Cameroon commercial activity and demonstrate growing private-sector interest in the Cameroonian market.
The governments of the United States and Cameroon will continue working with their respective private sectors to create a more business-enabling environment and translate the Dialogue into shared prosperity for both the American and Cameroonian people.