ADEA supports entrepreneurship training of youth in Cameroun

ADEA, in partnership with the African Development Institute of the African Development Bank (ADI/AfDB), provided technical and financial support to the Association Jeunesse Verte du Cameroun (AJVC; Green Youth Association of Cameroon), a member of the ADEA Youth Forum, for the organization of a training course in entrepreneurship for young people handling liaison with local communities. More specifically, the course was aimed at girls and women in the rural areas of nine regions of Cameroon.

The course, which was held from January 9 to 13, 2014, in the Oyomabang district of Yaoundé, Cameroon, benefited from technical support from Youssouf Ario Maiga, a member of the ADEA Working Group on Non-Formal Education.

The goal of the course was to give young people in rural communities a number of managerial, organizational, communication and entrepreneurial skills and information on energy use, so that they will be able to manage efficient, sustainable community projects administered by young people.
More specifically, the training course focused on development of projects and business plans, the use of ICT, high-efficiency clay stoves (improved stoves and Norwegian fireless cookers) and installation of photovoltaic panels. The fact is that the AJVC wishes to promote the various opportunities available in rural areas for “green jobs” as well as to give young people the tools they need to develop community projects on their own.

The course was conducted in participatory fashion, with theoretical sessions and practical workshops that took account of the context, the environment, and the participants’ knowledge and skills. It closed with the awarding of diplomas and a skit by the participants based on the slogan “paid or not, I’m committed”. Young people have been linked up via the social networks, despite the limited Internet access in some areas of Cameroon. The AJVC wishes to undertake, with the support of ADEA and ADI/AfDB, an outreach program on the improved stoves and the installation of photovoltaic panels in other regions of Cameroon as well as to share this experience with the other countries of the sub-region.