Gov't Engages Business Women

The government of Cameroon has engaged the Association of Cameroon Business Women (GFAC) in enterprise creation with the goal of setting up enterprise creation outlets in all the ten regions as well as creating 800 enterprises across the country in the next six years. The Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development (MINEPAT), Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi and GFAC President, Françoise Foning signed the agreement in the Conference Hall of MINEPAT in Yaounde yesterday August 6.

The agreement specifies the modalities for government support to GFAC in the enterprise creation project for a three-year renewable time frame. According to the terms, technical studies are to be carried out and a maquette drawn up for the setting up of two pilot enterprise creation outlets in Yaounde and Douala in the first year, two others still in the same cities in the second year as well as for studies and maquette for the construction of enterprise creation outlets in the rest of the regions from the second to the fifth years.

The agreement also makes provision for the creation of 800 enterprises across the country. This entails creating 50 enterprises in Yaounde and Douala in the third year, 100 in two other regions in the fourth year, 150 in two other regions in the fifth year as well as the remaining 200 and 300 in the other regions throughout the sixth year. It emerged from yesterday's agreement that FCFA 120 million has been put in place for the technical studies and the maquette for the ten regions, FCFA 120 million for the enterprise creation pilot outlets in Yaounde and Douala, FCFA 480 million for the construction of other outlets in the other eight regions and FCFA 1.25 billion for the setting up and functioning of the 800 enterprises across the country.

Speaking at the ceremony, the MINEPAT boss said government attaches a lot of importance to its growth vision to entrepreneurship, especially in the productive sector of the economy. This is not only because of its weight in wealth and job creation, but also because of its importance to reducing the country's perennial trade imbalance. "We need to produce what we consume and in large quantities so as to export the surplus and improve our trade balance," Mr Nganou Djoumessi said. To Mrs. Foning, government's gesture is a welcome relief to GFAC, which she said, initiated the project over ten years ago.