Date: Friday, June 16, 2023
Time: 10:00 am (Cameroon time), Onsite Event
Venue: Mansel Hotel, Yaoundé
By invitation only

“Assessing the Contribution of Women to Economic Growth in Cameroon”

1.        Background

In Cameroon, 39% of the population lives below the poverty line (OCHA, 2019). Women represent 51.5% of this poor population and 79.2% of them are underemployed or work in informal sector. Several factors explain this high vulnerability of women in the country: the vulnerable work of women, unpaid family workers and/or the self-employed, as a percentage of total employment, estimated at 81%, compared to 63% for men (World Bank, 2019). Moreover, boys have privileged access to quality education. Their gross enrollment rate in elementary school is estimated at 111%, compared to 100% for girls (World Bank, 2019). The Cameroon government has set itself, among other objectives, to significantly reduce these existing and persistent inequalities between men and women by 2030. The goal is to achieve double-digit economic growth, reach the threshold of 25% of manufacturing production in the gross domestic product (GDP) and reduce the incidence of poverty to less than 10%. In this regard, it intends to pursue its policy of equitable access for girls and boys, men and women to education, training, and information; strengthen programs designed to encourage female and youth entrepreneurship; and intensify consultations with the banking system to open up credit to this segment of the population. These measures should ultimately facilitate the access of women and youth to material, financial, physical, and intellectual resources to stimulate their entrepreneurial and professional activities and thereby contribute to economic growth.

2.        Objectives

The main objective of this meeting is to discuss the challenges that women and young entrepreneurs still face in Cameroon and show what the impact on economic growth could be if these challenges are overcome. More specifically, it will be a matter of:

• Presenting the findings of a “State of Business” briefing written by the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Center (SBEC) on the contribution of women to economic growth in Cameroon;
• Highlighting the opportunities for women’s entrepreneurship to foster economic growth in Cameroon;
• Discussing ways in which women entrepreneurs can overcome the challenges they face in developing their businesses;
• Gathering stakeholders’ inputs to create impact.

3.        Target audience

The target audience of this meeting includes government officials, Diplomats, International Organizations, Civil Societies Organizations, Academia, Entrepreneurs, Employers organizations, Financial Institutions, Business Incubators, and Media.

4.        Expected outcome of the event

Stakeholders are convinced of the contribution of women-led SMEs to Cameroon’s economic growth and are determined to work collectively to improve the participation of these key players in economic development.

5.        Contact

Email: [email protected]
Tel: (+237) 654 86 72 54