The FINANCIAL -- Limbé, Cameroon, Sept 7, 2011—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group,
today signed an agreement with Cameroon Development Corporation to help
train its sub-contractors and farmers in order to increase their
productivity and efficiency, enhancing the sustainability of its
programs and projects.
Cameroon Development Corporation, which develops and operates extensive plantations of tropical crops, will introduce IFC’s Business Edge services and tools to train its smallholder farmers. The Business Edge program will customize courses for 80 farmers in the pilot phase.
Most of the smallholder farmers today are illiterate, lack business knowledge and skills, rely on their own memory as records, and are unaware of their production costs. Training is expected to help the farmers use financial records to make decisions on the management of their farms, which will in turn help them control costs and increase the quantity and quality of their crops.
Henry Njalla Quan, General Manager of Cameroon Development Corporation, said, “We are profoundly grateful to IFC to allow us access to Business Edge products, which will help the smallholder farmers to better structure and expand their business.”
Henry Rabarijohn, IFC Country Manager, said, “This partnership ensures that Business Edge services will help support the growth and development of smallholder farmers, who are important both to their rural communities and to the national economy.”
IFC’s strategy in Cameroon includes increasing support to the small and medium enterprise sector; helping improve the business climate; and supporting direct investments in key sectors such as energy, agribusiness, and infrastructure. IFC has partnered with consulting firms in Cameroon to deliver Business Edge training to hundreds of micro businessmen and women, especially on topics of human resources, marketing, finance, operations, and personal productivity skills.
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