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- Cameroon’s Economy Minister Alamine Ousmane Mey and AfDB Central Africa Director General Léandre Bassolé sign the agreements in Yaoundé
- Mey and Bassolé exchange documents after signing the agreements
- Family photo with Cameroon officials, AfDB representatives and lawmakers from the Far North region
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Cameroon, African Development Bank (AfDB) sign €136 million loan deal to develop skills and entrepreneurship in Far North
The five-year programme will support technical and vocational training for 6,000 young people, create at least 5,000 jobs, 40% of them for women, and provide backing for over 500 small and medium-sized businesses
The programme will help to promote shared prosperity, reduce inequalities and consolidate social stability, with particular attention to young people and women
Cameroon and the African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org) have signed loan agreements worth €136 million to finance a programme aimed at building skills, creating jobs and modernising infrastructure in the country’s conflict-affected far north region.
The agreements for the Building Capacities and Skills for Employability and Entrepreneurship in the Extrême Nord Region" (CAP2E) were signed in Yaoundé by Cameroon’s Minister of Economy, Planning and Regional Development Alamine Ousmane Mey, and the Bank’s Director General for Central Africa, Léandre Bassolé.
The financing package includes €130.2 million from the Bank's non-concessional window and €5.8 million from its concessional lending arm, the African Development Fund (https://apo-opa.co/46GcPXC). The five-year programme will support technical and vocational training for 6,000 young people, create at least 5,000 jobs, 40% of them for women, and provide backing for over 500 small and medium-sized businesses.
It will also fund the construction or rehabilitation of 22 training centres and 29 social facilities, expand access to health and education services, and support renewable energy solutions to strengthen climate resilience.
"The aim is to invest in human capital, strengthen the skills of local people and create job opportunities in promising sectors such as agriculture and renewables,” Minister Mey said at the signing ceremony. “The programme will help to promote shared prosperity, reduce inequalities and consolidate social stability, with particular attention to young people and women."
Bassolé described the initiative as “a genuine catalyst for transformation” that would strengthen infrastructure, promote private sector entrepreneurship and support the solar energy sector. “Through this initiative, the Bank reaffirms its commitment to promoting the sustainable empowerment of young people and women by means of targeted, high-impact interventions.”
The programme aligns with Cameroon's national development strategy, and the Bank’s 2023-2028 country strategy, and ties into the government’s Special Programme for the Reconstruction and Development of the Far North.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).
Cameroon’s Economy Minister Alamine Ousmane Mey and AfDB Central Africa Director General Léandre Bassolé sign the agreements in Yaoundé
Mey and Bassolé exchange documents after signing the agreements
Family photo with Cameroon officials, AfDB representatives and lawmakers from the Far North region
Media contact:
Frédérique Pascale Essama Messanga
Communication and External Relations Department
African Development Bank
media@afdb.org
About the African Development Bank Group:
The African Development Bank Group is Africa's leading development finance institution. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). Represented in 41 African countries, with a field office in Japan, the Bank contributes to the economic development and social progress of its 54 regional member states. For further information: www.AfDB.org