Traders in fish in the economic City of Douala, Cameroon, worry over an increasing drop in the sale of the produce. During a Trade Fair organized by the President of the Syndicate of Fish Traders in the Wouri Division, she blamed the situation on the reluctance of Cameroonians to consume their own products.
By Irene Zih Fon
« I think most Cameroonians are ungrateful. They only wish to consume products from Europe, whereas they could get the same offer in the Country at a much cheaper rate, » said the Syndicate Official ,Madam Moudio, also a business woman. She continued, « Can you imagine what these traders go through to get fish here for sale to the public ? »
As the rate of youth unemployment takes a steady rise in Cameroon, civil society groups in the sector are seeking ways of helping out. The organization, Youth Business Cameroon (YBC) from October 19-21 organized a forum in Douala, dubbed: “The 2008 Entrepreneurial Marathon.” With focus on advancing youth entrepreneurship in Cameroon, the event sensitized young people on seeing self-employment as an opportunity where there is unemployment. The activities were part of the Global Entrepreneurship Week observed in over 50 Countries worldwide, to inspire young people into dreaming big and making their ideas a reality for economic empowerment.
By Irene Zih Fon
According to the Executive Director of Youth Business Cameroon, Gilles Lewat, it is time for all stakeholders committed to fighting youth unemployment, encouraging entrepreneurship or discouraging illegal immigration, to put together their resources for a greater impact to be achieved. This involves seeking partnership with Enterprise organizations and government structures, to design projects in schools and universities. Such occasion would yield an opportunity to rally youths from different sectors, when organizing employment/entrepreneurial forums.
Trade in West Africa is worth $20 billion a year, which is 50 times official current figures according to estimates from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). s is an indication of trade opportunities available to increase intra-regional trade to contribute to theverall growth of the region. Speaking at the opening in Accra, Ghana, of a three-day workshop to assess the value chain of onions, shallots and ruminant livestock, the Chief of Party of Agribusiness and Trade Promotion (ATP), Ishmael Ouedraogo, said the trade potentials in West Africa have not been fully tapped because of a number of constraints.
There was no other way to begin the Christmas season this year than celebrating Aunty Clo’s 10 years of “My friend Jesus” (now in video). For many a gospel music lover, Sunday, 2 November 2008 was a high moment of true spiritual experience. The almost 3-hour concert was a real proof to the fact that Cameroon has a lot of wasted untapped wealth of artistic talents that badly need to be promoted and exported. Unfortunately, artists cannot live on their work due to reported cases of piracy, lack of coordination in the music sector and growing competition from neighbouring Nigeria – whose artists and filmmakers have flooded our markets with an endless gamut of entertainment stuff and their “Africa Magic” TV channel a media religion pulling ardent worshippers in many households.
Chinese companies plan to build a fertiliser plant and a cement factory in Cameroon worth a combined 170 billion CFA francs ($334.3 million). China's Overseas Construction Group Co Ltd (CGC) signed a draft agreement to build a 135 billion CFA plant using local natural gas to produce 80,000 tonnes of ammonia and 130,000 tonnes of urea per year for use in fertiliser, officials said. "Cameroon is demonstrating a real desire to use its large reserves of natural gas," Polycarpe Ateba, a spokesman for the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Technological Development, said.
More than 150 high-level representatives from Africa, G8 and OECD countries met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 17-18 November 2008 to discuss priority actions to keep Africa on a strong growth track despite an increasingly unstable international environment, weakened by the recent global financial crisis as well as severe food and fuel price shocks.
As the use of the internet for several purposes gets a steady rise in Cameroon, Telecommuication Companies operating in the Country are seeking better technology to make their services more available and affordable to the vast majority of the population. The most recent of such Companies is RINGO SA, which hit the waves recently with the slogan-“We live together.” Just like MTN, Orange, CAMTEL and Saconet, RINGO offers Internet connection services but at a cheaper cost with more mobility options. However the rate is still expensive for the average Cameroonian, and it’s coverage is limited to Douala and Yaounde as of now.
By Irene Zih Fon
According to the Administrative Director of RINGO, Olivier Lelustre, the company is developing a wireless broadband internet access device that would cover all of Cameroon and even extend to rural areas. Their goal is to make internet connection more accessible to individuals right in their homes, and not just an office luxury as is mostly the case at the moment.
Pendant deux jours, les basketteurs de la sous région ont partagé leurs savoir faire malgré des désagréments qui ont menacé la sérénité de cette rencontre.
par Pierre-Alexis Kaptchouang
Le complexe sportif du Seme Beach hôtel à Bakingili par Limbe a servi le week-end durant de cadre pour la seconde édition du rendez-vous des vétérans du Basket-ball qui se sont retrouvés dans le cadre du tournoi « Beach master 2008 », une initiative de Ababo Basket club de Douala, et de Seme Beach Hôtel qui a connu la participation de quatorze pays de la sous région, dont le Congo Brazzaville, la République centre africaine, et une équipe dame du Congo, et onze équipes camerounaises venues de Bafoussam, Douala, Yaoundé, et Edea, parmi lesquelles deux équipes de basket dame. Véritable festival de Basket, ce tournoi a connu la présence du délégué régional des sports et de l’éducation Physique pour le Sud-ouest représentant le ministre des sports Abel Ekema, le président de la ligue régionale de basket-ball pour le Sud-ouest Emile Mbella Ifose, les chefs traditionnels de la localité, plusieurs autorités du Congo dont le sous-préfet de Pointe-Noire, ainsi que des dignitaires venus des deux pays voisins. On a aussi noté la participation de la miss tourisme du Cameroun 2008 Epossi Ikome Christiana, et plusieurs groupes de danse traditionnelle qui ont ainsi donné une coloration culturelle à cet évènement.
The impact of the world financial crisis on African economies has been the subject of much debate in academic, business and popular circles on the African continent. Economic professors, financial analysts, ministers of finance, political scientists, journalists, and even opinion leaders in drinking spots, are all volunteering explanations like the six blind men describing an elephant. Some are parroting CNN without quotation marks, others are plagiarizing economic textbooks or financial journals but the question on what impact the crises will have on African economies remains.
As the conception of ideas and production of films in Cameroon continues to come along slowly but surely, a new moovie has been released by a young film maker. Following a recent launching of the film in Douala, the Film Producer, Balon Njilu, said his motivation is to show collective work in filkmaking, at a time when most films produced are written and directed by the same person. He was speaking in an interview with Entrepreneur Online News’s Douala Bureau Correspondent, Irene Zih Fon.
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