By Ndi Eugene Ndi
The role of the youths in accelerating digital transformation in Cameroon within the context of the reference framework document for the development of the country in the next decade, the 2020-2030 National Development Strategy, (NDS30), was focus of a one-day conference in Yaounde on Tuesday February 27, 2024.
Organized by incumbent telecommunications operator, Cameroon Telecommunications, (CAMTEL), the conference, dubbed “CAMTEL Youth Day” brought together young startupers, tech engineers, entrepreneurs and other key players in the digital sector.
Themed: “Youths at the forefront of digital transformation”, the conference was part of activities marking the silver jubilee of the company which were launched in in September last year with celebrations spanning a period of one year.
Among key issues discussed was the role of digital technology in the promotion of youth entrepreneurship in Cameroon.
Opening the discussions, the General Manager of CAMTEL, Judith Yah Sunday epse Achidi underlined the importance and contributions of youths in building a strong digital economy. She reassured the youths of CAMTEL’s resoluteness in supporting their creative genius.
“We know that today youths are the champions of digital transformation. Starturpers are those who create and innovate so it is important that we take them on board so that we can work together in such a way that their genius can serve to promote development, empower them to create jobs and be employers themselves,” Judith Yah said.
To support the actions of the youths, the CAMTEL GM announced two events; Blue Tech Challenge and CAMTEL Start-up and Innovation Forum, which she said the state-owned telco will organize annually beginning this year.
The former will be a competition to reward excellence and best initiatives in the digital economy sector with mouthwatering prizes while the latter will be both a physical and virtual platform for constructive exchanges with stakeholders including universities, major schools, researchers and start-ups with a view to improving their contribution to the competitiveness of the sector.
The president of the Cameroon National Youth Council, (CNYC), Fadimatou Iyawa Ousmanou who attended the “CAMTEL Youth Day” saluted the company’s management for bringing young people onboard the country’s digital transformation journey.
“We thank CAMTEL for placing the youths at the forefront of digital transformation and to also put all their concern and focus on Cameroonian youths who are the most important component of our country. We are willing to work hand in glove with CAMTEL so that we can be able to reinforce the engagement of Cameroonian youths in the creation of more opportunities and fight against unemployment,” Fadimatou Iyawa said.
The “CAMTEL Youth Day” coincides with an elaborate process rolled out by the firm to recruit young Cameroonian technicians and IT specialists to improve on quality service delivery. To CAMTEL’s General Manager, this is a move to show the company is determined to make youths a pillar of digital transformation in the country.
“We want to go for the best of our Cameroonian youths in terms of technicians to come on board and see how we can better serve our country as far as telecommunications is concerned,” the CAMTEL GM said.
Besides the targeted participants, representatives from the Ministry of Youth and Civic Education, (MINJEC) and the Ministry of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, (MINPMEESA) also attended the “CAMTEL Youth Day” conference. Also present at the event was the Resident Representative of the African Institute of Computer Sciences, (IAI), Armand Claude Abanda.
