WHY CAMEROON?

The 2012 African Economic Outlook on Cameroon estimates that about 65% of Cameroonian jobseekers are under the age of 30 years old. 35% of those youth located in Douala and 50% in Yaoundé, which are two of Cameroon’s largest cities. Youth unemployment among the youth is staggering as 6 million youth have inadequate employment, 5 million underemployed and 3 million unemployed. While this problem is acknowledged publicly, there is a lack of private and public development sector involvement in providing scalable programs and training opportunities to creating space for entrepreneurs to develop sustainable businesses. Consequently, Cameroon loses a large number of its talented young demographic through the vicious cycle of lack of jobs and viable economic activities.

 

The present and future of Cameroon rest on the youth. It is time that the young people in Cameroon find value in their creative minds. Ultimately young Cameroonians are responsible for their future by developing innovative means for technological, sociological and economic empowerment. They will need to leverage one another as a resource in building capacity a entrepreneurs and job-creators. This would include, but not limited to, continued support and business training for young business owners while giving them access to resources that would enable them to build sustainable business and contribute to the overall economic growth of the country.

 

THE FORUM

Young leaders in Africa are history’s beacon of innovation and change. Properly trained with access to varying resources, the youths are the answer to Africa’s existing struggles with unemployment, leadership, gender relations, poverty, -just to name a few. If their skills are properly harnessed, the youth will carry Africa to its greatest era both economically and politically. Thus the transfer of human capital is an important requirement for a greater development.

 

Themed The Emergence of Young Cameroonians’ Engagement in Economic Development, the Young African Forum marries social and economic training, providing a platform to challenge and encourage the next generation of African leadership to rise to the occasion in facing the challenges of Africa’s growth and seizing the opportunities available to them.

 

The Forum creates a long lasting connection between the youth of Cameroon, and those in the Diaspora. The Council of Young Africans will provide business coaching and mentorship opportunities for young entrepreneurs and those who are starting their own businesses within the coming year. Leveraging CYAL’s partners and key supporters, this forum opens up a new network in the Diaspora for the attendants. The winners of the business competition will be awarded a grant for their business and afforded free and continuous business development consultation and coaching for the initial five years of their business; guiding them during their founding phase and helping them develop a financially sustainable business.