Cameroon students talent contest scheduled for Douala next week.

Minister Fame Ndongo made the announcement during a press conference in Yaounde on Wednesday, June 12.

The event to be held under the patronage of the Minister of State, Minister of Higher Education, will be under the theme:  “Build synergy between the business world, university innovation and student entrepreneurship to foster a corporate university”.

The event will hold on the campus of the University of Douala in the Littoral Region. It will run from Tuesday June 18 to Saturday June 22. 

The joint media outing to announce the ceremony was attended by several members of government including the Interim Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development, Prof Fuh Calistus Gentry, and the Minister of Employment and Vocational Training, Issa Tchiroma Bakary.

The Minister of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, Social Economy and the Handicrafts, Achille Bassilekin III, the Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Paul Tasong, and a representative of the Minister of Finance also attended the presser.

Unique opportunity for students

The Cameroon Students Ingenuity and Talent Contest was launched some seven years ago. The event spearheaded by President Paul Biya seeks to encourage the spirit of creativity and entrepreneurship among Cameroonian students and young graduates.

The forthcoming 2024 edition is expected to bring together students from higher institutions of learning nationwide including both the private and state institutions.

Speaking at the start of Wednesday’s press conference, Minister Fame Ndongo said next week’s event will be a renewed opportunity for Cameroonian students and young graduates to showcase their creations and tools.

He said the gathering will be an avenue to mobilise key actors in Cameroon and influence them into consider supporting projects led by Cameroonian students especially those into entrepreneurship and having the potentials to create genuine wealth and employment opportunities.

Prof Fame Ndongo added that the Douala event will also importantly focus on soliciting the intervention of banking institutions.

He said the financial institutions will be cornered at the event with the goal of having them come into playing the crucial role of financing the activities of the brave students and young graduates and entrepreneurs striving to create genuine riches.

“Higher education needs other ministries to work smoothly. It needs banks to finance the enterprises that are being created by young Cameroonian entrepreneurs,” he said. 

“It needs other state institutions so they can form a synergy and build a productive plan to be able to go to Douala with clearer view,” the minister added.

Bringing Biya’s vision to reality

According to Prof Fame Ndongo, the forthcoming event will besides the goal of showcasing Cameroonian talents and supporting them, also go a long way in restating the government’s zeal to promote a Cameroonian society where young people can create job opportunities and riches for themselves.

These, he added, is in a bid to continuously bring the Head of State’s vision of having a transformed Cameroonian society into fruition not only through assistance to entrepreneurs but a higher education system that backs creativity and promotes entrepreneurship. 

“The 2020/2030 National Development Strategy, SND 30 requires the training of qualified human resources that the producing fields are in need of. The Head of State wants universities that train students that will become the creators of job opportunities and riches,” the minister said. 

“President Biya wants enterprises that are legally registered and constituted and not built in a room or a small corner. He wants enterprises that regularly pay taxes. He wants enterprises that pay their employees in respect of standard salary requirement and enterprises that register their employees at the National Social Insurance Fund,” Prof Fame Ndongo added. 

Commitment to support entrepreneurs

Speaking in separate statements during the press conference, all the members of government who attended the gathering as well as those who were represented, restated the state’s commitment to supporting young Cameroonian entrepreneurs.

Prof Fame Ndongo and his colleagues particularly highlighted the strides made in their respective ministries to boost the agenda. 

The senior state officials also harped on the need to consolidate the already flourishing efforts that have been made in prioritizing educational patterns that are favorable to the development of the country by prioritising education that trains job and wealth creators. 

Enter mines minister 

The Interim Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development, Prof Fuh Calistus Gentry, spoke on the need for the state to continue adjusting the Cameroonian higher educational system to ensure it meets with the continuous demands of the changing times.

According to Prof Fuh Calistus, the ministry is making endless strides to, and will continue to support young Cameroonian graduates and students notably through the protection of inventions and the registration of prototypes.

The visit last week to Cameroon of the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organisation, Dareng Tang, the member of government added, is a true testament of the efforts made by his ministry to ensure that Cameroonians including young entrepreneurs have their products cared for.

Professionalisation of education

The Minister of Employment and Vocational Training, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, also reaffirmed his ministry’s commitment to support the growth of young entrepreneurs and contribute to the overall wealth creation and development efforts of the country.

He, however, reiterated the need for Cameroonian youth to prioritise professional and vocational training, stating that it is the only way forward to ensure that Cameroonian youth get the desired employment windows and riches they desire.

“Cameroon has to be industrialized. Cameroon has to stop importing. And that can only be done through professional training. The professionalization of training is the best pathway for the creation of enterprises,” the minister stated.

Similar tone, remarks 

Other members of government and their representatives made similar remarks during the event.

The Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Paul Tasong, who represented his boss at the event, said his ministry is investing massively to ensure a positive long-term growth for Cameroonian youth battling to create genuine wealth.

One of the key points amongst the said efforts, Minister Paul Tasong said, is the ministry’s focus to working on the structural transformation of the Cameroonian industry.

He said the government has intensions of and is working on shifting the nation’s industrial focus from the primary to secondary sector which is the key area that can facilitate the massive creation of jobs and riches.

The Minister of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, Social Economy and the Handicrafts boss, Achille Bassilekin III, said his ministry is striving in several areas in the domain of promoting job creation and supporting young entrepreneurs.

He cited accelerating the activities of incubators to facilitate the creation of enterprises.

Assisting incubation, the member of government added, enables start uppers to get a better orientation and guidance in their activity and also enables them to have a good study of the market which makes them to resist the hitches of the market.

The representative of the Minister of Finance at the event, Julien Serge Abouem, stated that the ministry is also fully focused on assisting youth employment projects.

He said the country’s Finance Law has in the last two years, allocated some 200 billion for some nine development areas including start-ups and agriculture with the aim being that of effectively supporting those in the respective areas.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No:3141 of Friday June 14, 2024