Activation Policies for the Poor in OIC Member States
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when there is a clear process in place to monitor how the grant is spent, additional intellectual
support is available for the beneficiary to build their business and the benefits of the grant can be
evaluated. Without this framework, value for money is impossible to quantify.
Supporting infrastructure
Impact assessment of the investment in all the various labour programmes, with data from the
operational front line, may be required so that informed decisions can be made about what really
works.
Much evidence is anecdotal and organisations lack the capacity and tools to undertake impact
assessments adequately. Carrying out impact assessments as described necessitates the
improvement of the labour market information that is currently available, the creation of SMART
indicators and improving the way labour market information is disseminated.
Creativity can be encouraged and fostered from childhood. Young people and their parents also need
to be supported to value self employment as a respectable and valued alternative to employment in
the public sector.
Vocational work and entrepreneurship are not regarded highly in Cameroon. They are also not
encouraged within the school curriculum. As these areas are most likely to offer employment
opportunities and are being pursued by the government as part of its growth strategy, the education
curriculum should change to reflect this. Fostering creativity could lead to developing innovation
and a sense of initiative among students. A greater focus on these subjects could also impact
positively on the public perception of vocational training and entrepreneurship.
Micro finance may be made more easily accessible to applicants with no or limited guarantees.
Young people under the age of 30 already make up the majority of the Cameroonian population. The
Cameroonian population is also expected to grow considerably till 2020. This means it is important
for more effort to be made by micro finance institutions to understand that it is essential to the
economy that young entrepreneurs, in particular, are given the financial support to succeed in their
business objectives and to create jobs.
The creation of the Agriculture Bank, to provide sector appropriate loans to agricultural workers, is
timely. This is in its planning stage of development which could incorporate planning to support
micro finance in giving ‘riskier’ loans to incubating businesses, perhaps through a Young
Entrepreneurs division.
Micro finance organisations can be trained to understand the business demands of the small
businesses they exist to support.
It is important for micro finance organisations to understand the business plans presented to them
and the constraints on small businesses in order for them to meet businesses’ needs. For example,
the timing of cash injection is critical to small businesses and the reasons for this need to be
understood by micro finance organisations. Chicken farmers, for instance, require capital to buy
chicks in October so they can grow in time for Christmas. Late payments of loans mean market
opportunities such as this one would be lost. To ensure that micro finance organisations can respond
to businesses’ needs, their processes and capacities would need to be developed.
The government could put pressure on micro finance institutions to distribute loans within a set
time frame and monitor their ability to do so.
As mentioned above, micro finance can take too long to materialise. Even government loans that are
administered solely through micro finance organisations can take three to four years to materialise.
The review currently being conducted to establish why government loans, administered by micro
finance organisations, have not reached the young people entitled to them may be used to instigate
possible changes to the way micro finance organisations operate and are regulated.