Cameroon joined the rest of the African continent on November 20, 2013 to observe the 24^th African Industrialisation Day with emphasis on ways of accelerating the process to give emergence a chance.

Speaking during commemorative activities in Yaounde, the Secretary of State in the Ministry of Industries, Mines and Technological Development, Dr Fuh Calistus Gentry, said industrialization is indispensable in the socio-economic development highly sought for by government.

Placed on the theme, “Job creation and the development of entrepreneurship,” Dr Fuh Calistus said the Day gave decision-makers the opportunity to reflect on policies of industrial development and re-orientate on those that ensure job creation to swallow the country’s numerous unemployed citizens.

The creation of an Investment Promotion Agency and the recent adoption of a law on private investment incentives in the country, the Secretary of State noted, testify to government’s resolve to give development a chance with industrialization as a tool.

Giant energy projects in place are assuring of energy availability in no distant future and would give a significant boost to the industrialization.

Also Read

14-09-2013 - Industrial Cassava Processing Underway in Sangmelima

Some 37 youth in the Adamawa region have been given 16, 900, 000 CFA francs to boost their entrepreneurship. Their projects have been selected from among 1,235 others to benefit from Urban and Rural Youth Project, Pajer-U, financing for 2013. The youth came from Vina, Djérem, Mayo Banyo, Faro and Déo and from Mbéré Divisions.

The interest-free loans ranged from 250,000 to 1,000,000 CFA francs and will go into agriculture, hairdressing, cattle rearing and others.

The national coordinator of Pajer-U, Pierre Matongo, is quoted as saying that all is being done to right the wrongs of the first phase wherein reimbursing posed a serious problem.

Also Read

23-09-2013 - 23 billion Youth Entrepreneurship Project Underway

– About 50 women entrepreneurs in Cameroon’s commercial and industrial city, Douala, have sharpened their skills on how to meet up with requirements for obtaining loans in commercial banks. This is thanks to a training workshop organized in their honour by the Standard Chartered of Cameroon on the theme, “Building my credit skills.”

According to a release published on Cameroon Tribune, the training workshop was initiated under the bank’s ‘Employee Volunteering’ with focus on women entrepreneurs who hitherto had difficulties living up to standards with loan requirements in some banks. Besides the complex bank requirements that made things hard for the entrepreneurs, the Douala workshop also diagnosed that some female entrepreneurs had insufficient mastery of their business cycles notably on what stage of their business needs financing, the important role played by a clear and truthful audit report among others.

The Head of Compliance and Financial Crimes at Standard Chartered Bank of Cameroon, Anna Asonganyi, is quoted to have said that, “As a bank, we have uniquely positioned to help people learn about basics of credit and banking, helping empower less advantaged groups and creating a more inclusive growth.”

Loans, according to Ghislain Boukosso, Credit Analyst, are the key levers of business and form the basis for development. “Loans connect the funding needs of clients and those in excess of funding, while financing economic growth,” he said. A good loan portfolio, he added, consists of a report of the environment for industries, strength and weaknesses of the enterprise, a mastery of the business enterprise cycle, the financial state of the enterprise, purpose of the loan, a business plan and a treasury statement.