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Carine Andela, ambassador for Made in Cameroon

For the past ten years, against all the odds, this young Cameroonian social entrepreneur and founder of the Association Entrepreneurs ingénieux d'Afrique (ASENIA) has been encouraging her fellow citizens, especially women, to grow, process and consume local produce.

By Banda Ngassam

This Thursday 16 January 2025, Carine Andela is taking part in a meeting at Cameroon’s Ministry of the Economy in Yaoundé. She has been invited by the Ministry of Trade to draw up the terms of reference for the ‘Made in Cameroon’ label, which the government has made a central plank of its import-substitution policy in its National Development Strategy for the Decade 2020-2030 (SND30).

« Her participation in this meeting reflects the government’s recognition of her work over the past ten years in Cameroon« .

For those who follow the 37-year-old Cameroonian social entrepreneur (she was born on 17 September 1988), ‘this is recognition of the work she has been doing in Cameroon for the last ten years’. When she obtained her baccalauréat in science and mathematics (D series), Carine Andela enrolled in the faculty of economics at the University of Yaoundé 2, in Soa, a suburb of the capital Yaoundé. Her aim was to ‘at least get my bachelor’s degree and blend into the professional world’, she told ANA in an interview. But nothing went according to plan. ‘At university, I discovered that young people were being groomed for unemployment’, she continues, adding that she is not going to wait until she has her degree to leave the unemployment trap.

The SND30 opportunity

Carine Andela, who grew up in a difficult environment, decided to use her resilience to help transform her country. Her commitment came at just the right time. The Cameroon government has just adopted the SND30. With Made in Cameroon as its main focus. According to the official statement, « this approach, which aims to reduce dependence on imports of goods and services by encouraging local production, holds great potential for stimulating economic growth, creating jobs and enabling the country to achieve the sustainable development goals of the United Nations Agenda 2030, to which Cameroon has subscribed alongside the 192 member states since 2015 ».

It is this ‘strong potential’ that underpins the commitment of Carine Andela, who is convinced that « Made in Cameroon can be a key factor in Cameroon’s economic and social development ».

All she needed was a legal instrument. So she created the Association Entrepreneurs Ingénieux d’Afrique (ASENIA), which was legalised on 14 February 2017 in Yaoundé. According to its promoter, this entity ‘campaigns to promote the local transformation of Cameroon’s natural resources’.

Since 2017, we have formalised the activities of 207 young Cameroonians, 65% of whom are women

Tontine and training for women

Carine Andela can then begin to distil her message to young agricultural entrepreneurs. And the results are not long in coming. ‘Since 2017, we have formalised the activities of 207 young Cameroonians, 65% of whom are women, champions of local raw material processing’, says ASENIA’s founder.

At the same time, to promote local products and support Cameroonian entrepreneurs, in 2017 she organised the first Africa Genuis forum in Yaoundé. Carine Andela is also the promoter of the Salon de l’initiative Femme, which ‘awards women, connects them and promotes their initiatives over two days’. The third edition will take place in March 2025. ASENIA is also helping women to become financially independent through the creation, in 2021, of a tontine that will enable each female entrepreneur to obtain one million CFA francs per month. ‘This sum will enable each of the beneficiaries to protect their brand with the OAPI (African Property Organisation), pay for certificates of conformity with the ANOR (National Standards and Quality Agency), labelling standards and analyse their products in certified laboratories’, Carine Andela points out.

ASENIA also contributes to the training of women entrepreneurs in partnership with certified firms. By 2025, 100 women entrepreneurs will have been trained thanks to a partnership with the World Bank via the Padesce project: ‘We have also formed a partnership with the NGO Foletia, the firm Groupe fiscal.com and the firm Promillys Digital, as well as Bankable Women, which finances our women entrepreneurs via BGFIbank,’ reveals Carine Andela. In this age of digital technologies, the Amazon of Made in Cameroon has set up NoteBiZ, ‘a tool to help young local entrepreneurs turn their ideas into projects’.

« Carine Andela is now a key figure when it comes to agricultural issues in her country ».

As she travelled around the country, Carine Andela also met operators in Cameroon’s agricultural sector. To date, her association has 515 members, the majority of whom are agribusiness leaders. She is now a key figure on agricultural issues in her country. That’s why this committed and passionate young woman, who believes in the future of Cameroon and Africa, is discussing Made in Cameroon on 16 January 2025 alongside high-level officials from the relevant ministries (Agriculture and Sustainable Development; Trade; Economy, Planning and Regional Development) and certification experts.

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