Student Entrepreneurship: A Social Shield Now Available For Innovators

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Student Entrepreneurship: A Social Shield Now Available For Innovators

An integrated programme for the incubation, acceleration, and social security of young business creators was launched on October 20 2026 by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.

21 Oct 2026 10:56

A s Cameroon pushes ahead to empower local economies, hi gher education ins titutions increasingly serve as engines of entrepreneurship through competitions like the University Business Challenge. Yet, despite promising talent emerging from these incubators, creators frequently see their ventures collapse due to acute financial insecurity and lack of basic welfare. This explains the launch on October 20 2026, of the Integrated Programme for Incubation, Acceleration, and Social Security of Student-En trepreneurs (PIISSEE) under the chairmanship of the Minister of Employment and Social Security, Grégoire Owona. “When you are a young entrepreneur, social protection is crucial because when you fall sick, production stops. Entrepreneurs are the gateway out of unemployment, and this program comes in han dy to handle social protection with efficiency,” emphasized Minister Grégoire Owona. The initiative relies on a public-pri vate alliance connecting sector ministries, business networks, mutual organizations, and the National Social Insurance Fund (NSIF). Highlighting the scale of this intervention, Henri Séverin As sembe, President of National Network of Business Incubators of Cameroon, and president of the program’s steering committee noted that “young innovators represent roughly 5% of the national budget. So the dynamic we are deploying aims to structure our youth around decent work.” From a financial perspective, the Personal Mutual for Credit and Investment (Mupeci), assured all in attendance that as partners, they will help transform student ideas into bankable, revenue-generating projects. For this transformation to occur, Sylvain Bekono, vice president of the Employers Grouping for Enterprises &...