In a bid to foster youth integration into the job market, the State is taking action to promote the requisite entrepreneurial culture for youth empowerment.
This was one of the meaningful remarks from the President’s address to the youths on the eve of the the 11th February celebrations.
President Paul Biya made it clear that the young people are a burgeoning population that he banks on in order to achieve the emergence goals, hence widening investment opportunities for this strata of the demography.
Amongst special measures taken to uplift the youths was the Special Three-Year Youth Plan in 2016.
This plan has already enabled the financing of over 11 thousand youth projects and generated close to 35 thousand direct jobs, for an overall cost of approximately 20 billion CFA francs.
To amplify this projects, Paul Biya widens the scope of opportunities for the youths. In his own words he promised…
“To boost this plan, I have instructed the Government to fast-track the creation of a Guarantee Fund for Young Entrepreneurs, with a special window for financing projects promoted by youth of the Cameroonian Diaspora.”
He reminded youths that he had equally announced the start or continuation of numerous projects in various sectors, notably infrastructure, energy and mining. Opportunities to to be grasped.
A Guarantee Fund
Guaranteed funds are a type of fund that guarantees total or partial return of the initial investment on a specific date.
This guaranteed maturity date is a future date when all of the fund’s shares are guaranteed to reach a specific net asset value.
Only those investors who hold their investment until the maturity date benefit from the guarantee.
The expected returns on guaranteed funds may be established from the time of the investment or may depend on the performance of a stock index or a basket of shares.
This project has been in the making for more than 10 years under the name SME Credit Guarantee Fund (Fogapme).
Operation of the Guarantee Fund
This Guarantee Fund is not a donation. Hence the importance of defining its nature beforehand. Economists distinguish two types. A Fund with a social and solidarity vocation which makes it possible to cover the loan without commission. And, an Economic Fund where a commission is charged or charged to the young borrower. Clearly, the Guarantee Fund created by the President of the Republic Paul Biya is a private body which has operating costs to cover. According to the Head of State, “ this Fund should enable project leaders and young companies to have the necessary guarantee to raise the capital available on the financial markets, or obtain financing from traditional banks ”.
This drive to self employment, Paul Biya reiterated in his speech.
“…neither the State nor existing private sector enterprises alone can employ all the young people graduating from the traditional educational system each year.
That is why, once again, I am urging you to embrace self-employment by taking advantage of the opportunities available in areas such as agriculture, handicrafts, and digital economy.”
The guarantee fund stands as a benchmark for many economy’s growth and will be the same for that of Cameroon.
Bruno Ndonwie Funwie
