(Business in Cameroon) - Aside from the town of Batcham, in the West region, and in 13 other communes having benefited from phase 2 of the Basic Poverty Reduction Subprogram (Phase 2 du Sous-Programme de Réduction de la Pauvreté à la Base - SPRPBH-2), several other rural areas in Cameroon could soon take advantage of the benefits of this initiative managed by the Ministry of Economy, with financial support from UNDP, we learn officially.

The purpose of UNDP raising the envelope of FCfa 1 billion planned for the implementation of this project, in order to increase the number of beneficiaries, is due to the success of the pilot phase, whose results have just been assessed during field visits in the beneficiary areas. "The aim of the project is to show rural populations with feeble revenues, that it is possible to do business in the village and succeed, without always resorting to a rural exodus", explains Jean Victor Bouri Sanhouid, the Acting Resident Representative of UNDP in Cameroon.

Specifically, the Basic Poverty Reduction Subprogram grants loans at reduced rates to groupings of agro-pastoral actors in rural areas, in order to allow them to develop their activities. According to the terms of cooperation between Cameroon and UNDP in this initiative, interest on these loans are paid by the Ministry of Economy.

BRM