New Training of Business Experts in Cameroon: Building Skills to Help Small Businesses Succeed

The ACP-EU Development Minerals Programme, through UNDP Cameroon, is working to grow a cohort of Cameroonian business development experts to support growth of micro, medium and small enterprises (MSMEs). From June to August 2025, a series of three intensive training were conducted, on the Growing Your Business/Supplier Development Programme Methodology (GYB/SDP).

The training is done in collaboration with UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean (RBLAC), which developed the business-growth methods now being transferred to Cameroon. While the Development Minerals Programme supports small businesses doing value-addition to products made from minerals – mostly construction materials – the Agribusiness Initiative supports small businesses in agro-processing.

The training introduced new tools and methods to improve how businesses plan, manage finances, ensure product quality, and promote their products online. The trainees learned the GYB/ SDP methodologies that provide a systematic way for mentoring businesses for growth.

The training was very hands-on. Each participant worked directly with a small business to apply what they were learning. For example, one consultant helped a small clay-brick business organize its workspace using the 5S method, which reduced waste and boosted daily production. Another consultant helped a stone-cutting enterprise understand its costs better and set clearer prices, making it easier for the business to negotiate with buyers. In total, around two dozen small businesses started seeing real improvements during the training itself – whether in branding, financial planning, or how they present their products to customers.

After rigorous and intensive training, 24 of the training participants were accredited – which gives a mark of quality for these business development experts to mentor small businesses to grow and become competitive. This also creates Cameroon’s first cohort trained directly in the GYB/SDP methodology.

By focusing on agribusiness and development minerals, the initiative supports Cameroon’s national development goals and helps create more jobs and opportunities for local entrepreneurs in sectors identified as national priorities.