(Business in Cameroon) – Yesterday, in Douala, a partnership was signed between JFN Group and JMJ Group to help achieve the goals of Cameroon’s 2020-2030 National Development Strategy (SND30). This strategy focuses on creating jobs, improving industrial development, and prioritizing “knowledge import-substitution” to reduce reliance on foreign expertise.
Alphonse Nafack, founder of JFN Group and former president of the Cameroon Bankers Association, emphasized the importance of this collaboration. JFN Group is known for its academic and professional training institutes. “We are proud to partner with JMJ, whose achievements in Cameroon and across Africa are widely recognized by anyone committed to building this continent,” said Nafack. “This partnership is designed to reshape both ecosystems to address key challenges for Cameroon and Africa, including employability for youth and seniors, entrepreneurship, digital skills, access to financing, and the complete overhaul of our educational, entrepreneurial, and managerial systems.”
JMJ Group, whose local subsidiary JMJ Africa won Cameroon’s Best Investment Consulting Firm award in 2024, also brings significant expertise. Founder Patrice Yantho shared JMJ’s story of growth and resilience. “JMJ started as a small start-up, facing both challenges and successes. Over time, we have grown into a local leader. Our experiences, combined with those of JFN, and the major projects we’ve delivered in Cameroon, such as the Neo Industry cocoa processing plant, the Douala Grand Mall, and other projects in Côte d’Ivoire and Benin, give us confidence that this partnership will address the missing links in Cameroon’s youth entrepreneurship initiatives.”
Nafack explained how the partnership would work in practice. JFN will contribute its network of top-tier universities and partnerships with global digital leaders like Google, Microsoft, and Dassault Systèmes. JMJ will bring its expertise in financial engineering, business planning, and project management. Together, they will create an incubator-accelerator to support start-ups and businesses, driving forward a significant part of the SND30’s goals.
Job creation and employability are among the key objectives of the SND30, which was adopted in 2019 to guide Cameroon’s development. One area of focus is addressing the skills gap in the digital economy. “Today, the global demand for digital skills is 4 million workers, and by 2050, it will reach 650 million. Africa has the potential to supply much of this workforce. If we train even 1/100th of these workers, it would represent incredible growth. Those 650 million jobs could generate $10 billion in revenue,” Nafack stated.
The partnership aims to train local talent that can compete globally, moving away from reliance on raw material exports. “With this collaboration, we can create and export local expertise, achieving what I call ‘knowledge import-substitution.’ This is about exporting talent, not raw materials,” Nafack concluded.
