On Wednesday 18 November 2020, the Minister of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicrafts presided over a twofold-ceremony in Douala: the first was the official inauguration of the JFN-IT E4IMPACT Accelerator, a centre for the promotion of Enterprises, and the second was the signing of the Partnership Agreement MINPMEESA – JFN – IT E4IMPACT.
The event was enhanced by the presence of the Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development and some administrative authorities in Douala. Achille BASSILEKIN III welcomed the promoters for setting up this incubation centre. This centre “will provide local entrepreneurs and project owners with significant support for the growth of their enterprises and it will transform high-potential project ideas into real and prosperous enterprises with high social and environmental impact”. According to him, this partnership falls in line with the entrepreneurial trend driven by the Ministry of SMEs which encourages the entrepreneurial culture which will be introduced in school syllabuses of our country.
This centre will serve as a meeting point for entrepreneurs and project owners to cooperate within the innovation platform in Cameroon. It aims at facilitating the acquisition of innovation and entrepreneurship skills in students, graduates, job seekers, workers; at mobilising enterprise leaders and donors who are part of the Centre for Development and Promotion of Enterprises dubbed JFN-IT E4 IMPACT CENTER. The incubation model of the said centre draws inspiration from the Commercial development programme in favour of young entrepreneurs in the ICTs and agro-industrial sectors. This centre will equally be used for the promotion of enterprises at regional and international levels, capable of combining economic output, social and environmental impact.
According to Mr Antoine Nkolo, General Coordinator of JFN Institute of Technology, the objective is to create a favourable working platform and to house a community of entrepreneurs bound by collaboration, innovation and entrepreneurship. Mr Nkolo is determined to support young Cameroonians to engage in entrepreneurship because “Entrepreneurship has undeniable benefits in the Cameroonian society”.
According to the Chairperson of the said centre, Mr Alphonse NAFACK, this incubation structure is committed to the socio-economic development of our country through the implementation of various initiatives in favour of the youth in both the banking and education sectors. In fact, its goal is to work daily in order to provide sustainable solutions towards the employment of young graduates.
At the end of this twofold ceremony, the Minister of SMEs greatly commended the incubation activities put in place by public and private actors, and he reiterated the support of the Government in facilitating formalisation and issuance of licence procedures to private incubation structures, in order to boost the coherence and quality of our national incubation policies.