Callbox in Cameroon, a profession for degree holders

The Cameroon education system does not suit the test of job markets, and the government being unable to offer employment for the desperate population, they are obliged to create self employment.

The Cameroon education system does not suit the test of job markets, and the government being unable to offer employment for the desperate population, they are obliged to create self employment.

Statistics has proven that out of ten people doing callbox, seven are degree holders. The loses involve in this profession, obliges them to associate biscuits, bonbon, cigarettes, and cheeps as a means to cover up the loses and make a little profits.

To survive in this profession, you need to buy more credit and also sell faster. Here, when you buy credit for 60.000fcfa, the interest is only 3000fcfa. As such, he who invests more, makes more profit.

This profession has a host of setbacks for at times, they mistakenly send credit to people they do not know and the result is a deficit for they will effectuate two transfers and receiving money for one. That notwithstanding, there are at times credit theft as Hyacinthe Kenfack explains « un jour, un client a pris mon telephone pour appeler. Et il a transféré 7000FCFA.

C’est bien après que j’ai constaté et il n’était plus là, or je ne le connais pas.» This is just one example of risks that the callbox profession has. Like credit theft, network failure is one of the serious problems encounter by callbox dealers.

More often than expected there is always this issue of sending credit to one number for more than one time. Akame Metuge Vincent, a degree holder in economics from the University of Dschang explains this phenomenon “I always have this problem of network which has led to a great lost in my business. At times I will send credit to one number for more than one time with no net work fit back”.

Things are not easy with the callbox profession but they don’t have a choice. It’s simply unemployment that pushes Cameroonians to go into callbox business. But however, the callbox profession reflects the education system in Cameroon.

I mean a system of education with no future for the youths but its sole objective is raising public funds.

Given that there is little and at times no interest in credit transfer and calls, we are obliged to associate items like biscuits, bonbon, cigarettes, and cheeps just to make little profits and cover up the enormous loses.