Fifty small business owners in Konye Subdivision of the Meme Division have completed a three-day business training workshop organized by the Buea-based non-governmental organization Changing Mentalities and Empowering Groups (CHAMEG) Cameroon, aimed at helping victims of the Anglophone crisis rebuild their livelihoods.
The workshop, held from March 12 to 14 at the Konye Council Hall, brought together beneficiaries who had earlier received business equipment and startup materials under the government’s Presidential Plan for the Reconstruction and Development of the Northwest and Southwest Regions (PPRD).
Speaking during the training, the founder and chief executive officer of CHAMEG Cameroon, Ekandim Agbor Meg, said the workshop was designed to ensure that beneficiaries effectively manage the support they received and rebuild sustainable businesses. According to her, the training focused on equipping the entrepreneurs with practical knowledge in simple bookkeeping, business planning, customer service, inventory management, and digital and market linkages. Beneficiaries were also trained on the safe and appropriate use of the equipment distributed to them.
Dr. Agbor Meg explained that the objective of the program was to provide practical business training to the 50 beneficiaries in order to strengthen their planning capacity and improve their ability to manage their enterprises.
She added that each participant will be supported in developing an individual, results-oriented business improvement plan with cash-flow projections and key performance indicators. “We are helping them learn how to properly use the items given to them while strengthening their basic bookkeeping, customer relations, and inventory management,” she said.
Beyond the workshop, CHAMEG Cameroon will conduct a three-month post-distribution monitoring exercise to verify the use and quality of the distributed equipment and to capture lessons, outcomes, and feedback from the communities.
The initiative forms part of the government’s reconstruction efforts following the destruction survey conducted in 2019 to assess the impact of the crisis in the Northwest and Southwest regions.
Dr. Agbor Meg described the project as a crucial step toward rebuilding rural businesses that were destroyed or disrupted during the crisis.
She noted that rural enterprises play an important role in job creation and in reducing rural youth migration. In times of crisis, she added, small businesses also serve as a means of reintegrating vulnerable populations and addressing the psychological and social effects of unemployment. “This activity is very important not only for the communities of Konye but also for the Southwest region and Cameroon as a whole,” she said.
The beneficiaries come from a variety of sectors, including tailoring and textile production, ICT services, hospitality and cafeteria operations, laundry and cleaning services, and bakery and foodstuff businesses, as well as cold-store and beverage distribution.
Dr. Agbor Meg also pointed out that although this is CHAMEG Cameroon’s first implementation under the PPRD program and in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme, the organization has a long-standing history of supporting small businesses and vulnerable groups.
In 2021, CHAMEG Cameroon supported 20 youth-led businesses across four municipalities, Mamfe, Kumba I, Bangem, and Lebialem, where beneficiaries received training, mentorship, and financial support to implement their business plans.
Several of those businesses have since expanded, including a barbering enterprise that now trains other youths and an agricultural entrepreneur who exports potatoes to Equatorial Guinea.
Addressing participants during the closing ceremony, the Divisional Officer of Konye Subdivision, Moses Attah Ndep, congratulated the beneficiaries and acknowledged the importance of the training in helping them restart their lives. He explained that the 50 participants represented the first batch of beneficiaries selected in the subdivision after the crisis destroyed homes and livelihoods across many communities.
“Today the beneficiaries who are here had a small training on what has been given to them by the Head of State following what happened to us in the subdivision, not only here but all over the English-speaking regions,” he said. “These fifty people selected have been fortunate to be the first consignment of beneficiaries. Many people in our subdivision were affected, but you are the first set to benefit.”
The Divisional Officer said the training would help participants properly manage the small businesses they are starting with the government’s support. He also highlighted the extent of destruction suffered by Konye Subdivision during the crisis, noting that many houses were burnt down and numerous residents lost their means of livelihood. “Konye Subdivision lost nearly everything. Even some houses around where we are having this meeting were destroyed or burnt to ashes,” he said.
According to him, many motorcycle riders and taxi drivers also lost their bikes and vehicles during the crisis, leaving them without sources of income.
He appealed for additional assistance to be extended to other victims who have yet to benefit from the reconstruction program. “Those who have benefited are not up to one-tenth of the people who lost their properties,” he said, urging authorities to continue the support so that more victims can rebuild their lives.
Participants at the training expressed appreciation to the government and CHAMEG Cameroon for the opportunity, describing the workshop as a timely intervention that will help them rebuild their businesses and improve their livelihoods.
Many of them said they had lost homes and sources of income during the crisis and expressed hope that similar support would be extended to other affected community members.
Although the three-day training has concluded, CHAMEG Cameroon says its work will continue with follow-up visits and mentoring at the participants’ business locations as they finalize and implement their business improvement plans.
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