Context: Cameroon, with an estimated 25.31 million people, is a sparsely populated, with only about 40 people per square kilometre. Moreover, 90 per cent of the country’s economically active population works in the informal sector, that in turn contributes to between 20 and 30 per cent of Cameroon’s gross domestic product. The informal sector consists mainly of micro-enterprises run by individual entrepreneurs. With weakly-regulated working conditions, the proportion of working people who live in a household classified as poor is 24.3 per cent of the total working population. In turn, the share of youth that are not in employment, education or training is 17 per cent.
Implementation of programme/ initiative: Cameroon’s National Support Programme for Rural and Urban Youth (Pajer-U) is a government-run initiative that provides financial and technical assistance to people between 15 and 35 years of age. The programme was launched in 2007 by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Civic Education and is currently being implemented through 10 regional offices and 58 departmental offices throughout the country.
Pajer-U offers training in 17 different sectors, including animal breeding, agricultural services, metallic works, electronics, plumbing and hairdressing. Moreover, the initiative equips participants with entrepreneurship and project management skills. Through the programme, young people may also apply for grants and loans to develop well-structured project ideas. Pajer-U’s ultimate aim is to turn young Cameroonians, both in the urban and rural sector, into successful entrepreneurs and contribute to reducing the informal sector of the economy.
Main challenges: One of the main challenges faced by Pajer-U involves how to raise awareness of the programme. Thorough information campaigns are essential to communicate to all potential beneficiaries how to apply, get involved and take full advantage of the initiative. Furthermore, participants have often complained about slow responses when applying for Pajer-U’s grants and loans. Hence, it is important that supervisory structures are in place to ensure transparency and efficiency in application procedures.
Results achieved: Pajer-U, together with other government youth programmes, has played an important role in curbing youth unemployment in Cameroon. In 2018, about 70 per cent of youth in the informal sector could affirm to have benefited from funds received from programmes of the Ministry of Youth and Civic Education. Moreover, in the period between 2007 and 2014, more than 3,519 young people took advantage of Pajer-U’s loan scheme.
Moving Forward: Cameroon will continue to work on the development of programmes, such as Pajer-U, that are aimed towards the economic integration of youth by providing concrete support to individual entrepreneurs and projects. As of 2016, the government’s youth-related programmes have fallen under the wider scope of the Special Youth Triennial Plan. The three-year plan was launched to ensure coherency and a more efficient monitoring of the government’s varied initiatives that are focused on youth.
Replicability: Part of the success of Pajer-U rests on its ability to adapt to Cameroon’s dispersed population by working at the local level through numerous regional offices. This allows for more tailored support and better supervision of its beneficiaries. Moreover, the Government’s move to encompass its youth-related programmes under an overarching umbrella allows for greater collaboration between the varied initiatives and between different development areas, such as education, employment and health. The Special Youth Triennial Plan also allows for a more organized and better regulated use of resources.
References:
http://www.crtv.cm/2018/02/cameroon-empowers-youth-specialised-projects/
https://socialprotection.org/discover/blog/youth-empowerment-cameroon-special-youth-triennial-plan
http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/cameroon-population/
Acknowledgements:
This good practice was kindly prepared by Ms. Victoria Mulville.
Project Details
Date: April 12, 2019