Fourth edition of Prototyping Support Fund: SMEs minister launches call for innovative project proposals.

The initiative, fronted by the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Promotion Agency, SMEPA, was launched in Yaounde Monday.

This was during a press conference chaired by the Minister of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicrafts, MINPMEESA, Achille Bassilekin III. This was in the presence of the General Manager of SMEPA, Jean-Marie Louis Badga.

Speaking during the event, the minister said the fourth edition of the Proto-Fund call for project proposals is to respond to the challenges of developing and promoting entrepreneurship, supporting the creation of innovative companies and strengthening the links between researchers and innovators/entrepreneurs.

The Photo-Fund contest, Minister Bassilekin III explained, is open for applicants, mostly youth in social entrepreneurship, researchers and inventors, start-ups, SMEs in development.

He said “candidates can present their business idea or project in line with all the sectors of activity and growth industries targeted by the National Development Strategy, NDS2030, aiming to achieve emergence by 2035”. 

He added that: “The types of projects expected are innovation projects by enterprises or start-ups contributing to the regional or national supply of technical or technological solutions such as agricultural, digital, industrial, educational, medical, tourism, security, climate, energy, urban mobility, creative industries, fintech, agritech, and others”. 

The window for application via the Proto-Fund platform: www.fonds-proto-apme.cm, was opened August 5 and will be closed September 10, 2024. 

The selection procedure for the project proposals is to be done in two phases; online and in-person.

The pre-selection, to be done online, will be conducted by a jury made up of internal and external experts. 

Meanwhile, the final selection phase will be done in-person with the pre-selected candidates to defend their projects before a strategic committee made up of business leaders, bankers and university lecturers.

Enter SMEPA General Manager 

On his part, the General Manager of SMEPA, Jean-Marie Louis Badga, told reporters that the initiative will culminate in an innovation fair slated for October 11 this year. 

The fair, Badga said, will have over 60 youth from across the country to showcase their knowhow. 

“The innovation fair will enable us to see what the winners of the previous editions of Proto-Fund have become. They are already operating their projects and I have no doubts that there are already some who are millionaires now,” Badga stated. 

Quizzed on the peculiarity of the fourth edition of Proto-Fund, the SMEPA General Manager elucidated that the initiative has “grown to maturity”, from the previous editions with emphasis to be placed on investment. 

“In the previous editions, it was just morning of presentation of the prototype restitution. But for this year, we'll have two days so that everyone can see what the young innovators can bring to our economy,” he declared, adding that “for the two days, we are going to talk about investment, because the youth, who are mostly startuppers, are said to have no records, whereas they have valuable prototypes”. 

“We are talking about the Made in Cameroon and it is only through innovations that we can promote the Made in Cameroon, because everywhere, there is need to be innovative in the international market,” Badga added.   

Initiative in line with President Biya’s plan for the youth 

During the press conference, it was explained that SMEPA’s Proto-Fund initiative, under the auspices of the President of the Republic, Paul Biya, is in line with his vision for the youth. 

The initiative seeks to make the most of the country’s existing resources, national and international expertise and local economic potential, in order to develop new, ever more innovative and competitive businesses. 

It was revealed that through the Proto-Fund, more than 200 million FCFA has already been offered to innovators in the first three editions, from direct State grants and the Special Three-Year Youth Plan Funds of the Ministry of Youth and Civic Education, MINJEC.

The scheme has enabled 66 innovative SMEs and start-ups operating in various sectors of activities to develop 66 innovative products or services.

This has been done while obtaining their respective proofs of concepts, prototypes tested on the identified markets, and protection under the African Intellectual Property Organisation, OAPI. 

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue N0:3191 of Tuesday August 06, 2024