Visionary Reports

Over the course of a month and a half, participants gained valuable entrepreneurial skills focused on agricultural transformation.

The Douala-Bwadibo Pilot Incubation Centre has successfully completed its third batch of young trainees. Over a month and a half, children aged 8 to 15 participated in the “Holiday Transformation” entrepreneurship training program. This initiative focused on teaching them how to produce cassava and plantain flour, natural juices, pastries, bread, and more. This program not only equips children with valuable skills but also encourages creativity and entrepreneurship at an early age. It’s a wonderful opportunity for the young participants to gain practical knowledge and hands-on experience in food production.The program is part of the Cameroon Chamber of Commerce Industry Mines and Craft initiative to inculcate the spirit of entrepreneurship into the younger generation and enable them to gain skills that will permit them to be self reliant and self employed. The Chamber of Commerce’s vision is to develop an ecosystem that fosters entrepreneurship among young people, having a significant social impact by enabling them to acquire new skills and develop new passions during their vacations. The children received training in various modules, including fruit processing, chicken smoking, bakery, dietetics, and entrepreneurship, with 20% theory and 80% practice. In essence, they learned to be resourceful and earn their first 100 francs independently.During the testimonial awards ceremony in the pilot incubation centre in Bwadibo on August 20, the director of the Centre Yves Tefac emphasized that the children have received not only entrepreneurial skills but also moral and civic education. He added that it wasn’t an easy journey as they had both financial and transportation challenges but thanks to their different partners they were able to overcome. He said the training has a three year outlined modules as the first year is focused on introduction to the basics and fabrication of juice, the second is the real transformation process while the third year is a continuation of the second program but accompanied with industrial visit. He disclosed that for this edition, the children visited some bakeries and participated in the production of some food items, they equally visited food production companies and farms to understand how foodstuffs are planted and how they grow.

On his part, the Representative of the president of the Cameroon Chamber of Commerce Mines and Crafts Tala Kuate Daniel congratulated the children for their interest and sacrifice. He said the program was a way to keep children gainfully busy during the holidays. For him the skills that the children have gained will help them both now and in future. “You have the chance to learn and grow here. You might even acquire your first profession through this center”Kuate noted. He added that Cameroon is in need of entrepreneurs for development reasons why it was important for them to inculcate entrepreneurial values in the children at a very young age which is a revolution in mentality regarding entrepreneurship. This revolution in mentality, he went on, also concerns younger individuals, aged 8 to 20. It’s worth noting that over the past five years, professionalization of education has become increasingly prominent, starting from primary and secondary school levels. The Chamber of Commerce, as a major player in the public and private sectors, has been involved in transforming vocational training.It’s mission is to introduce young children to agro-food processing through an innovative learning program and educational games, dubbed ‘Holiday Transformation. This pilot program targets young children and adolescents eager to discover the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and agro-food processing.

By Gina Esong