Project Title: Powering Prosperity and Economic Freedom For Women and Youth In Cameroon

WHY JOIN THE PROJECT ?

The Powering Prosperity and Economic Freedom for Women and Youth Project has a strong focus on empowering Women and Youth in the private sector to confidently start, grow and expand small and medium-sized enterprises. The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Centre Provide Small Businesses from the informal sector, and SMEs with necessary tools, counseling, seeds capital fund, and contracting expertise. 

We will work together to:

• Improve your access to market opportunities and assist you in legalization
• Enable you to have access to finance and link to microfinance institutions
• Help to understand the taxation system and choose the appropriate tax regime.
• Train and accompany to develop Winning Business Plans
• Provide Organizational and Administrative Support to SMEs
• Equip you, impact and assist you in your entrepreneurial venture.
• Facilitate collaboration with various stakeholders.
• Assists SMEs to transition into the formal economy
• Provide Seed Capital and Business Acceleration for Bankable SMEs (Small seed capital grant of up to $2,500 USD)

How to be eligible for Administative Support and an Investment of up to 1.500.000 FCFA

Download this > PDF < to know more about the eligibility criteria.

Training / Boot Camp

SME Flagship Training

What is the SME Flagship Training?

The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Center (SBEC) is currently implementing a six (06) months training program for Small and Medium size Enterprises (SMEs) by offering a comprehensive capacity-building kit of modules to enhance the know-how of SMEs across 5 regions in the country, namely the Centre, Littoral, West, South-West and North-west regions.

The ultimate goal of this venture is to ensure SMEs accelerate their growth pace to contribute significantly in playing the role expected of them in stimulating economic development.

Four reasons basically account why SMEs need to take part in this SME flagship trainings

• To efficiently pilot the growth of your business;
• To have a mastery on business induced risks;
• To be eligible to a seed fund capital of 1.500.000 FCFA;
• To join the SBEC network for close assistance.

To register for this training, click here

Job-preparedness Boot Camps

Do you want easy access to employment or develop your soft skills? Then the job-preparedness Boot camp is just the right solution for you!

This solution takes you through a one-week intensive training sessions, scheduled quarterly in 5 regions (North-West, South-West, Littoral, Centre and West). The trainings combine:

• Technical workshops to enhance the capacities of your business,
• Job applications and interview strategies to get you ready for the job market,
• Experiential work-based learning opportunities and skills to improve overall work performance.

Our training, designed from a participatory process, focuses on basic life skills, technical skills development, income generation skills and soft skills development.

Target Groups

• Marginalized persons Women and youths aged between 16 and 35,
• Individuals with disabilities or without formal education
• Vulnerable persons Internally displaced persons (IDPs) in conflict regions

Target Regions

• Northwest and Southwest
• Littoral, West and Centre regions

Most importantly, the trainings tailored to target job seekers needs offer 03 incubation sessions to secure a job or to be self-employed. At the end of these, you may boast of:

• A total immersion in the job-seeking process;
• Partaking in job interview workshops;
• Being introduced to soft skills and income generating activities.

To register for this training, click here

Documentation

Powering Prosperity and Economic Freedom For Women and Youth Outreach Template English | French

Partners

Upcoming Training / Bootcamps

SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT OBJECTIVESMAIN PROJECT OUTPUTS OUR METHODOLOGYTARGET GROUPS

Cameroon faces widespread disparities in freedom of economic access, especially for women and youth. Small and Medium seize Enterprises are the key to addressing economic parity and GDP growth while making measurable progress towards improving freedom and meeting the SDGs.

Our project is holistic by design, built to address the root causes of SME underperformance and job access in Cameroon, through the fulcrum of a Small Business and Entrepreneurship Center (SBEC).  Our strategic plan includes building individual capacity while working for overall systems change, improving the climate for SMEs and opportunities for women and young people to enter the workforce.

The main objective of the project is to support the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Centre (SBEC), which aims to create a more robust and diverse middle class in Cameroon through fostering free enterprise. It seeks to advocate with coalition stakeholders to promote economic freedom while deepening SBEC as a go-to resource for entrepreneurial training and development.

The specific objectives are as follows:

• Create favorable conditions for starting and maintaining businesses
• Build capacity for SMEs to prosper and grow.
• Improve capacity to procure jobs within the cultural context, especially for women and young people.

• Work with our coalition of Banks, Universities, think tanks, NGOs and political actors to advocate for solid policy change and financial institution change to create a favorable environment for SMEs to formalize.
• Improve resources for SMEs and workers through direct training and capacity building programs implemented in 4 regions (supply-side and demand-side).
• Improve our sustainability through new income streams, including SME membership fees and new programs/conferences.

• Building stakeholder alliances to shape the dialogue and advocate for freer economic conditions for SMEs;
• Improving the demand side, by providing the tools and operating conditions necessary to expand the SME economy, towards an end of creating new jobs;
• Empowering women and young people to participate in the entrepreneurial community and to establish and grow SMEs. We especially focus on helping the most vulnerable, including IDPs and other marginalized communities.

Marginalized persons	Women of working age; youths (between 16 and 35) especially young women; Anglophones; individuals with disabilities; individuals without formal education
Vulnerable persons	Internally displaced persons (IDPs); conflict regions
Target Regions	a. Northwest and Southwest (ongoing conflict with estimated 700,000 IDPs) b. Littoral, West and Center regions (these regions have received the most IDPs outside the Northwest and Southwest

KEY PROJECT ACTIVITIES

1. An advocacy campaign with stakeholder coalition to change policy

Advocate for solid policy change and financial institution change to create a favorable environment for SMEs to formalize.

2. Scale capacity-building and support programs for small business owners

• Six (6)-month business management training program
• Providing Organizational & Administrative Support to SMEs
• Providing Seed Capital and Business Acceleration – For Bankable SMEs (Small seed capital grant of $2,500 USD)

3. Job-preparedness Boot Camps

One (1)-week intensive training sessions, quarterly in 5 regions, that combine technical training workshops, job applications and interview strategies, experiential work-based learning opportunities and skills to improve the overall work performance. Our training, designed from a participatory process, focuses on basic life skills, technical skills development, income generation skills and soft skills development.