By Etienne Mainimo Mengnjo
Cameroon and the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) have signed loan agreements worth FCFA 8.9 billion (€136 million) to finance a program aimed at building skills, creating jobs, and modernizing 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 on Sept. 17.
Cameroon’s Minister of Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Alamine Ousmane Mey, signed on behalf of Cameroon. Léandre Bassolé, the AfDB’s Director General for Central Africa, signed for the bank.
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.
The five-year program will support technical and vocational training for 6,000 young people and is expected to create at least 5,000 jobs, with 40% reserved for women. It will also provide backing for over 500 small and medium-sized businesses.
Additionally, the initiative will fund the construction or rehabilitation of 22 training centers 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.
He added that the program will help to promote shared prosperity, reduce inequalities, and consolidate social stability, with particular attention paid 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.
He emphasized that 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 program aligns with Cameroon’s national development strategy and the bank’s 2023-2028 country strategy. It also directly supports the government’s Special Program for the Reconstruction and Development of the Far North.
