H4BF works with women and young people in Cameroon to connect practical skills, vocational learning, enterprise development, cooperative participation and pathways to employment. This programme is designed to move beyond training attendance towards economic participation and stronger local institutions.
Women and young people are central to Cameroon’s development, yet too many face a difficult transition from education into decent work, income and meaningful participation. In conflict-affected communities of the North-West, insecurity compounds these barriers: education is interrupted, livelihoods are weakened, movement is restricted and the everyday institutions that help young people plan their futures come under pressure. This programme responds to that development challenge—not with training alone, but by connecting skills to real pathways to earn, contribute, lead and belong.
The World Bank’s Cameroon labour-market analysis shows why low unemployment alone can conceal underemployment, low productivity and precarious work. It also finds young people are more likely than non-youth to leave the labour force (19% compared with 10%).
The ILO reports that the regional youth NEET rate exceeded the global rate of 20.4%, while lack of productive and decent jobs remains a major labour-market challenge.
In 2023, two-thirds of young people globally who were NEET were women—evidence that economic exclusion is also deeply gendered.
Cameroon’s North-West and South-West crisis is complex and has political, historical, security and socio-economic dimensions. It cannot responsibly be attributed to one cause. But credible evidence shows that the crisis has disrupted the foundations on which young people build a future.
When young people can access opportunities to learn, earn, contribute and progress, they are better positioned to shape their futures and take an active role in their communities.
UNICEF’s 2025 reporting describes continuing insecurity in the North-West and South-West, attacks affecting education and health services, displacement and protection risks. The World Bank’s analysis of the crisis documents its deep economic and social effects on households, markets, services and community life.
H4BF believes that when education is interrupted, livelihoods collapse and legitimate opportunities become scarce, young people can become more exposed to frustration, exclusion, exploitation and harmful recruitment. While the crisis has multiple political, historical and security dimensions, expanding access to skills, livelihoods and meaningful participation can help young people strengthen their choices and contribute to recovery.
Our response is to widen the choices available to young people: practical vocational and digital skills; pathways into employment, including linkage to the National Employment Fund; support for viable enterprise; cooperative participation; mentorship; and opportunities to take part in rebuilding their communities. Young people must be recognised not only as people affected by crisis, but as contributors to recovery, social cohesion and peace.
The programme links individual capability with the structures that help people use those capabilities: a vocational institute, cooperative participation, enterprise support, employer connections and partner-supported projects.
H4BF’s approach is to help women and young people access relevant skills, build confidence and experience, and connect to viable economic pathways. Participants may pursue entrepreneurship where appropriate, or employment where starting a business is not their preferred or realistic option.
This is important in communities where access to capital, markets, equipment and formal employment can be constrained. The programme therefore combines direct support with institutional relationships and practical delivery platforms.
Investors and development partners can help H4BF strengthen training quality, expand access for women and underserved youth, equip practical learning environments, support viable women- and youth-led enterprises, and improve the evidence that tracks employment, income and enterprise survival.
01 · SKILLSRenewable energy, IT, smart agriculture, fashion and design, and entrepreneurship through HOBEFI.
02 · ENTERPRISEBusiness basics, start-up support, mentoring, cooperative development and market connections.
03 · EMPLOYMENTWork readiness and employment linkage, including referrals through Cameroon’s National Employment Fund (NEF).
04 · LEADERSHIPWomen and youth taking part in cooperatives, community initiatives and economic decision-making.
H4BF works through a connected set of training, enterprise and employment pathways, bringing together institutional capacity, community participation and partnerships.
HOBEFI is registered under Cameroon’s Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training. Its training areas include renewable energy, information technology, smart agriculture, fashion and design, and entrepreneurship.
Funder opportunity: equipment, scholarships, trainer development, industry-standard curricula, certification pathways and employer-linked cohorts.H4BF’s cooperative development work provides a structure for collective participation and agricultural enterprise. The 2025 annual-report material records 127 members at year-end.
Partnership opportunities include strengthening cooperative governance, member services, production planning, aggregation, quality assurance and access to markets.H4BF has supported women and young people through business skills, start-up materials, start-up capital and student-led enterprise initiatives, as reflected in its annual-report source register.
Funder opportunity: enterprise diagnostics, coaching, small equipment, market validation, working-capital readiness and post-support follow-up.H4BF’s employment pathway includes connecting trained jobseekers who do not intend to establish businesses with employment opportunities through Cameroon’s National Employment Fund.
Funder opportunity: strengthen job-readiness, employer engagement, referral systems and follow-up with employers and jobseekers.These selected indicators demonstrate the programme’s reach across skills development, cooperative participation, practical competency and enterprise support.
Reflecting H4BF’s commitment to expanding access to learning and practical skills.
Training participation is one part of the pathway from learning to economic opportunity.Membership measure of the cooperative platform supporting collective economic participation.
COOPBOD provides a platform for collective participation and cooperative development.Climate-smart potato production training for Awing United Friends Farming Cooperative, including 10 women.
The training recorded full participant completion.Reflecting H4BF’s support for youth entrepreneurship and applied learning.
The support helped student-led businesses take steps towards enterprise development.Each participant received FCFA 250,000 in start-up capital.
Start-up capital helped participating women take steps towards establishing or strengthening livelihoods.Reflecting H4BF’s support for environmentally responsible enterprise.
The programme’s green enterprise work encourages innovation and livelihood opportunities linked to environmental sustainability.H4BF delivered practical training for 32 members of Awing United Friends Farming Simplified Cooperative Society, including 10 women. The training report identifies PADESCE as the funding support and describes practical capacity-building for agricultural productivity, food security and agribusiness readiness.
H4BF’s value to funders is its ability to connect resources, technical collaboration and local implementation. The contribution map recognises the different roles of funding partners, technical collaborators and delivery institutions across the programme.
European Union · Erasmus+ — funding framework for the Cameroon RenewED capacity-building partnership in vocational education and renewable-energy skills.
Turing Foundation — multi-year financial support associated with EN-Power and HOBEFI’s vocational and technical training development.
PADESCE / World Bank programme — funding support identified in the May 2025 climate-smart potato production training report.
Noorderpoort, Apro Formazione and MasterPeace International — international vocational education, programme development and technical collaboration.
FAP NGO and Sopisdew — Cameroonian consortium collaboration under Cameroon RenewED.
National Employment Fund (NEF) — employment pathway connecting jobseekers with opportunities and supporting employer engagement.
| Partner | Programme connection | Contribution to the pathway | Contribution and public disclosure |
|---|---|---|---|
| European Union · Erasmus+ | Cameroon RenewED | Programme funding framework for capacity building in vocational education and renewable-energy skills. | Project-specific funding figures are presented where the award and H4BF allocation are confirmed. |
| Noorderpoort | Cameroon RenewED / HOBEFI collaboration | International vocational education collaboration within the capacity-building consortium. | Specific work-package and deliverable allocation requires agreement confirmation. |
| Apro Formazione | Cameroon RenewED | European vocational education partner contributing to consortium-based VET collaboration. | The partner contributes to vocational education collaboration within the consortium. |
| FAP NGO | Cameroon RenewED | Cameroonian consortium partner contributing to local project collaboration and implementation. | The partner contributes to consortium collaboration and local project implementation. |
| Sopisdew | Cameroon RenewED | Cameroonian consortium partner contributing to local project collaboration and implementation. | The partner contributes to consortium collaboration and local project implementation. |
| MasterPeace International | EN-Power / HOBEFI development | Programme development and international collaboration supporting renewable-energy and ICT skills development. | The partnership combines programme development and technical collaboration. |
| Turing Foundation | EN-Power / HOBEFI development | Multi-year financial support for vocational and technical training development. | The Foundation provides multi-year financial support associated with vocational and technical training development. |
| PADESCE / World Bank programme | Climate-smart potato production training | Funding support for practical agricultural capacity-building for cooperative members, including women. | The programme supported climate-smart agricultural capacity-building for cooperative members, including women. |
| National Employment Fund (NEF) | Employment linkage | Institutional pathway for connecting jobseekers with employment opportunities when entrepreneurship is not the chosen route. | The pathway supports connections between trained jobseekers and employment opportunities. |
| H4BF | Local implementation and programme integration | Community engagement, participant identification, training delivery, coordination, follow-up and linkage to enterprise or employment pathways. | H4BF leads community engagement, participant identification, programme coordination, delivery and follow-up. |
H4BF is strengthening a connected model in which vocational learning, enterprise development, cooperative participation and employment pathways reinforce one another.
HOBEFI and programme partners expand access to practical vocational, digital and technical skills that respond to community and market needs.
Business development, mentorship, start-up support and cooperative participation help women and young people turn skills into economic activity.
Employers, vocational institutions, funders, public institutions and community organisations help connect learning to markets, work and continued opportunity.
H4BF aims to diversify its resource base through programme partnerships, vocational training, enterprise development and appropriate revenue-generating activities. Resources are managed in line with the organisation’s governance framework, applicable regulations and funding agreements, with a focus on sustaining and extending social impact.
A credible partnership proposition includes a clear use of funds, implementation controls and measurable outcomes after the initial activity.
Track enrolment, attendance, completion, competency, certification, cost per learner and participation by sex, age and vulnerability.
Track job-readiness, referrals, interviews, verified placements, retention at 3/6/12 months and employer feedback.
Track enterprises launched, trading status, sales, income, jobs supported, business survival and market access after support.
Track women’s control of income, leadership roles, access to productive assets, participation in decisions and barriers addressed.
Use approved budgets, project-level ledgers, procurement records, supporting documents, reconciliations and donor-specific reporting.
Apply safeguarding, complaints and feedback mechanisms, risk management, data protection and documented corrective action.
H4BF recognises the institutional funders and technical partners contributing to women’s and youth empowerment. Partner support is acknowledged in relation to the projects and activities it helps deliver.
H4BF welcomes foundations, bilateral donors, corporate foundations, vocational institutions, employers and technical partners interested in strengthening this pathway in Cameroon.
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Through our approach, H4BF engages, inspires, empowers, and connects women and youth, enabling them to transform their lives and become active agents of change in their communities. Our work is not just about providing skills but about fostering long-term, sustainable growth that benefits families, communities, and the wider society.
Your support can make a world of difference. By donating or partnering with us, you contribute to breaking the cycle of poverty, empowering women and youth, and building resilient communities. Together, we can help women and youth realize their full potential and create a brighter, more sustainable future. Join us today in making this vision a reality.
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