The Entrepreneur - Cameroon's Premier Economic & Business Journal

Simple approaches to growing small business

Benson Kimani

One frequently asked question by micro and small entrepreneurs is how to register and sustain growth for their enterprises. The assumption is that such efforts would automatically require big spending. On the contrary, simple efforts can almost guarantee desired growth. It is also a fact that very few micro and small enterprises celebrate their fifth birthday, something that can be reversed in simple approaches.

African first ladies meet in Los Angeles, USA for female health

By Jill Serjeant

A group of African first ladies began a two-day meeting in Los Angeles on Monday to forge U.S. partnerships to try to improve health and education of women and girls in African communities afflicted by AIDS. The wives of the presidents and prime ministers of Kenya, Nigeria, Angola, Zambia, Cameroon and 10 other nations teamed up with US health experts, nonprofit groups and a clutch of celebrities to promote their work. "Nowhere before in the United States has such a large group of African first ladies come together to talk as one," Ted Alemayhu, founder of the Los Angeles-based US Doctors for Africa, told a news conference.

France urges CFA zone to invest in key sectors

By Mathieu Bonkoungou

France has called on Africa's CFA franc zone to invest in "multiplier" sectors such as infrastructure to fight the global crisis, which an African finance minister said the region was weathering well as a result its euro-pegged currency. This year would be one of risks and unpredictable pitfalls for the 14-country CFA franc zone but its governments should avoid populist measures like raising salaries, French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said on Friday, April 17, 2009.

Cameroon's $1.9 Billion from 2008 Crude Oil Sales, Despite Output Drop

By Emmanuel Tumanjong

Cameroon earned $1.9 billion last year from crude oil sales, based high prices for the commodity, selling 20.4 million barrels of its total 30.8 million barrels of oil produced in 2008, as reported by the state-run National Hydrocarbons Corporation (SNH). However, Cameroon's 2008 crude oil output fell 1.37%, down from the 31.3 million barrels it produced in 2007, said another report in the paper.

Why This Is Not the Next Great Depression

Notes from a conversation with Alex Green

The things I keep hearing are "Are we going into the Next Great Depression?" and "Will this turn out to be a 'lost decade' like Japan?" I call this the Great Recession today. But that's all it is... The Great Depression in the 1930s was actually a downturn that became something much worse because of failed government policy. What did the politicians do? They raised interest rates – tight money was wrong. They threw up protectionist legislation – that was wrong. They let the banks fail. And they raised taxes. The policy errors were horrific! Economic policy in the 1930s was like medicine in the Victorian Age.

U-20: Will the Global Economy Resurface?

Walden Bello explains that the "show" of the G20 Summit on the global economic crisis conceals the world leaders' deep lack of direction and uncertainty over economic recovery. He describes the minimalist IMF reforms, praised by the G20, as a "non-starter," and outlines how the proposed changes to the voting system do little to balance the overrepresentation of wealthier countries in decision-making. Despite talks of reform and counter-cyclical spending, IMF conditionality still requires that low income countries' deficit spending must not exceed 1 percent of GDP....MORE

World Depression: Regional Wars and the Decline of the US Empire

The financial crisis reflects a contradiction between the financial elite that concentrated capital and ordinary workers. US corporations took advantage of a cheap overseas labor in order to develop an economic system that channels money upwards. Author James Petras demonstrates that the world crisis is a product of the "over-accumulation" process, which has deprived US workers of financial resources. This process has reduced government financial assets, increased debt and drained resources for many generations to come...MORE

FIFA World Cup Organisers celebrate Countdown to 2010 Soccer Fiesta in South Africa

The 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa (OC) and FIFA are counting down to the first African FIFA World Cup. “We have come a long way since the 15 May 2004, and a lot has been achieved so far, with impressive stadiums taking shape and so many infrastructural improvements changing the face of South Africa, as we lead up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. We have a great deal yet to accomplish in a very short time and we are on a very tight schedule. Despite the pressure, we are confident the preparations will be completed on time,” said FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke addressing media at SAFA House in Johannesburg, together with OC Chairman Dr. Irvin Khoza and the OC CEO Dr. Danny Jordaan.

Helping migrants and 'diasporans' to invest in countries of origin

New collaboration between FAO and IOM

Helping migrants to invest in agricultural development in their home countries is at the heart of a new agreement between FAO and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). FAO Deputy Director-General Jim Butler and IOM Deputy Director-General Ndioro Ndiaye today signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on agricultural projects which stem directly from migrant communities in Europe and other nations of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development).

Managing the Global Economy: The Dearth of Morality

By Mathias Victorien Ntep

Although no groundbreaking solution to the current financial and economic crisis was put on the table during the recent World Economic Forum that unfolded from January 28 through February 1, 2009, in Davos, Switzerland, and the G-20 Summit in London, observers could notice that the theme and/or topic of this year´s economic gathering was, “ Ethics instead of shareholder´s value – more State instead of unrestrained capitalism”. While public figures and opinion leaders from other countries were puzzling over the economic and financial future of our global world-village in Davos, Switzerland, many of their African counterparts were quietly fiddling and cavorting around.