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.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, providing advisory services to businesses and governments, and mobilizing capital in the international financial markets. In fiscal 2011, amid economic uncertainty across the globe, we helped our clients create jobs, strengthen environmental performance, and contribute to their local communities—all while driving our investments to an all-time high of nearly $19 billion. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
and
www.ifc.org/africa
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About Business Edge
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IFC Sustainable Business Advisory Services is supporting the growth of small and medium enterprises. Working with partners in Africa, IFC has helped thousands of entrepreneurs access the finance and skills they need to realize their potential. Business Edge™ is a face-to-face IFC training system that helps SMEs more easily access markets by strengthening their management capacity. The training can be customized for specific countries and regions in Africa. For more information, including a full list of our corporate partners and accredited training firms, visit
www.businessedge-africa.com
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