At launch of Global Entrepreneurship Week: SMEs minister urges youth to take greater interest in entrepreneurship.

He also used the opportunity to assure youths of government’s unwavering support in accompanying them in their various initiatives. Minister Achille Bassilekin III was speaking in Yaounde Tuesday, November 14. 

This was during the official launch of activities to mark the celebration of the 5th edition of the Global Entrepreneurship Week in Cameroon, GWEC. 

The event which held at the Advanced School of Mass Communication, ASMAC, on the campus of the University of Yaounde, I, was under the theme: “Networking: A tool for the development of youth entrepreneurship”.

In attendance were the Minister of Employment and Vocational Training, Issa Tchiroma Bakari; the Secretary General to the Governor of the Centre Region, representatives of diplomatic missions accredited to Cameroon and entrepreneurs.

According to Minister Bassilekin III, this year’s edition of the GWEC aims to highlight to the youths the importance of working in networks and interest groups to share information and business opportunities.

The GEWC, he revealed, was an ideal opportunity to exalt the ingenuity of young people and encourage them to take a greater interest in entrepreneurship, alongside training curricula that focus on general knowledge.

Minister Bassilekin III explained that the government remains keen on promoting and supporting entrepreneurship. He added that his ministerial department has left no stone unturned in ensuring that the young people demonstrate their savoir faire and creativity.

The minister also disclosed that the government has put in place several measures intended to facilitate the conception, monitoring and functioning of their projects. To him, this demonstrates their zeal to top up the number of youths in the country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

“We decided to put on the forefront the theme of developing the network as the basis for the expansion of entrepreneurship. In so doing, we believe those incubators are precisely the heart of this promotion,” the minister said.

The minister also detailed that: “We are fully aware that the Head of State, decided to establish a guarantee fund to enable young people who are willing to start a business to be provided the necessary guarantee. And with the Ministry of Youth and Civic Education including the Ministry of Finance, we are working in close collaboration to ensure that our young entrepreneurs can benefit from this funding”

One of the highlights of the launching of the GWEC was the inter-ministerial roundtable on the theme of the Week. 

During the exchange, Ministers Achille Bassilekin III and Issa Tchiroma Bakari gave insights and tips on how to combat unemployment and how the youths can change the narrative.

About Global Entrepreneurship week

This 5th edition of GWEC will feature 200 conferences on the central theme, 58 exhibitions and conferences with unemployed young people, as well as 1,000 awareness-raising campaigns in secondary schools, colleges, universities. 

The celebration will also be an opportunity to share 116 local success stories with young entrepreneurs, to popularise the list of existing local co-working spaces; and to share 40 successful networking experiences.

It is important to note that the celebration of the GWEC will run until November 17. The various activities earmarked shall take place simultaneously in all 10 regions. 

Minister Achille Bassilekin III is also expected to preside over a series of activities like the launching of the 4th edition of the African Forum for Women Entrepreneurs, FAFE, on the 15th of November at Yaounde City Hall.

The member of government shall also hold a working visit to the Obala Agricultural Institute. He will also take part in the Cameroon Women Entrepreneurship Day, CAWEECO, at the Djeuga Palace on 16 November, and in the launch of the ANJEC International Bootcamp at the National Museum.

The celebrations will end tomorrow with the award of EMPRETEC certificates during the official closing ceremony at the Yaounde Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Crafts.