Cameroon Launches CFAF 5.5bn Funding Round for 1,000 Youth-Owned Businesses

The Cameroonian government has opened applications for a CFAF 5.5 billion program targeting 1,000 young business owners in six cities, as part of efforts to support youth entrepreneurship, strengthen small and medium-sized enterprises and create jobs.

Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development Alamine Ousmane Mey announced the second cycle of the Business Plan Competition under the Adaptive Safety Nets and Economic Inclusion Project in a press release dated September 2, 2026.

Online applications opened on September 7 and will close on October 17, 2026. The program targets entrepreneurs aged 18 to 35 operating in Yaoundé, Douala, Buea, Bamenda, Maroua and Garoua. Eligible businesses must have been operating for between one and three years.

Both formally registered and informal businesses may apply, provided they demonstrate strong growth and job-creation potential in sectors prioritized under Cameroon’s National Development Strategy 2030, or NDS30.

Successful applicants will receive financing, entrepreneurship training, coaching and post-financing support. The follow-up component is intended to help strengthen the competitiveness and sustainability of the selected businesses after funds are disbursed.

The competition is part of the World Bank-backed Adaptive Safety Nets and Economic Inclusion Project. The broader project is designed to strengthen social protection for poor and vulnerable households while expanding access to income-generating and entrepreneurship opportunities.

The inclusion of informal businesses is particularly relevant in a labor market where informal employment remains dominant. According to Cameroon’s National Institute of Statistics, 86.6% of jobs were in the informal sector in its third Employment and Informal Sector Survey. Non-agricultural informal activities accounted for 52% of jobs, while informal agricultural activities represented 34.7%. The formal private sector accounted for 5.1%.

The same survey put the employment rate among people aged 15 to 34 at 39.3%. The rate stood at 47.2% for young men and 31.3% for young women. It was also higher in rural areas, at 43%, compared with 37.1% in urban areas.

A World Bank study based on Cameroon’s 2014 household survey also highlighted the scale of informality and vulnerable employment among young people. It found that 85% of employed youth worked in the informal sector, while unemployment reached 20% among university-educated youth in urban areas.

By directing financing and business-development support toward enterprises with growth and employment potential, the competition combines economic inclusion measures with support for business expansion. Its focus on NDS30 priority sectors also aligns the program with the government’s broader industrialization and private-sector development objectives.

The Ministry of the Economy said the program is intended to support sustainable job creation, innovation, stronger SME competitiveness and more inclusive economic growth.

Mercy Fosoh