UNDP, Brazil commit to support women-led businesses, agro-SMEs.

This was during separate audiences the Minister of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicrafts, MINPMEESA, Achille Bassilekin III, granted the UNDP Resident Representative, Mathieu Ciowela, and the Brazilian Ambassador to Cameroon, H.E Patricia Maria Oliveira Lima.

The audience with UNDP official examined the UN agency’s 2026-2029 gender equality strategy, which places gender among its three core programme drivers. 

Ciowela presented the planning stages and collected the ministry’s input on embedding gender priorities into enterprise development across regions. 

Both officials revisited current joint actions designed to strengthen women’s access to entrepreneurship, skills and leadership training. 

According to the ministry, the ongoing initiatives support innovative projects that promote the internationalisation of women-owned enterprises and extend assistance to women in underserved areas for equitable access to economic resources.

Programmes under review include SheTrades and Cassava and Women in AfCFTA, which aim to help women-owned enterprises integrate into regional and global markets. 

MINPMEESA and UNDP stressed that these efforts target increased women’s participation in productive sectors and a stronger contribution to national economic growth.

In another audience, Minister Bassilekin III and Ambassador Patricia Maria Oliveira Lima outlined new areas for cooperation between Cameroon and Brazil in SMEs development, social economy and handicrafts. 

The discussions built on longstanding collaboration involving the Brazilian Agency for Cooperation, ABC, and SEBRAE, an institution known for supporting micro and small enterprises. 

Both parties assessed opportunities for expanded partnership in agro-industry, equipment access and the upgrade of business incubation systems.

The Brazilian diplomat said the objective is to identify sectors where structured cooperation can support economic actors in the coming year. 

She noted that both countries are considering pilot projects in production basins such as cocoa, coffee, cassava and selected handicraft sectors. The pilots would apply Brazilian experience adapted to local conditions, with the goal of boosting agro-industrial transformation.

The cooperation plan seeks to expand Cameroon’s productive capacity by drawing on Brazil’s technical expertise in value-chain development, enterprise support and innovation in rural sectors. 

With a focus on agro-industry and handicrafts, the partnership targets sectors with strong prospects for job creation, export expansion and increased local value addition.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3653 of Friday December 12, 2025