THE African Development Bank (AfDB) has granted a loan of €63.09 million to Cameroon to enhance entrepreneurship and bridge the skills gap to meet industry demands. With an estimated project cost of €64.93 million, the initiative will be a collaborative effort between multinational partners, the private sector, and the Cameroonian government, with a joint contribution of almost €2 million.
The project will focus on five regions in Cameroon, namely Centre, Littoral, South, Southwest, and Far North, aiming to foster entrepreneurship, empower youth and female employment, and improve skills in sectors such as construction, transport, energy, agro-industry, ICT, and the green economy. It will directly enhance 12 training centres and nine public and private entrepreneurship support facilities.
The lack of skilled human resources in Cameroon poses a threat to the country’s industrialisation and economic growth. The project seeks to engage the private sector, in collaboration with the government, to implement key structural measures such as developing technical and vocational training infrastructure and strengthening the capacity of stakeholders and the education system.
The private sector will contribute through three approaches: delegated management of vocational training centres, establishment of a Vocational Training Development Fund, and funding of private initiatives supported by the Youth Project Development Support Mechanism. Additionally, a network of business incubators within promising sectors will be established.
The project aims to enhance the quality of education by aligning it with the needs of the job market, promoting self-employment, facilitating professional integration for young people, especially in the targeted growth sectors, and strengthening the institutional capacities of technical and professional stakeholders.
Two of the project’s regions, the Southwest (affected by the Anglophone crisis) and the Far North (affected by Boko Haram terrorist attacks), have faced conflicts. The initiative will improve employment opportunities and income-generating activities for young people and women, reducing the potential appeal of terrorist movements and contributing to peacebuilding, improved living conditions, and economic growth in Cameroon.
The project’s impact will be significant, benefiting 7,350 young apprentices through improved training courses and supporting 1,225 young entrepreneurs or project leaders in the five regions through an incubation programme until they establish their businesses.
Moreover, the initiative will have a profound socio-economic effect on Cameroon, potentially generating an additional 28,000 jobs by 2050, averaging 1,120 jobs per year between 2027 and 2050.
The funding from the African Development Bank aims to support Cameroon’s strategic efforts to address the shortage of skilled labour in priority sectors. The project aligns with Cameroon’s National Development Strategy 2020-2030 and two priority areas of the Bank’s 2023-2028 Country Strategy Paper for Cameroon, focusing on infrastructure development to promote the agro-industrial sector and strengthening human capital and governance to enhance the institutional and business framework. It also aligns with one of the Bank’s strategic priorities, improving the quality of life for the people of Africa, as well as its upcoming Ten-Year Strategy for 2023-2032.
