Maroua (Cameroon), 23 February 2026 - The Government of Cameroon and the African Development Bank Group have launched a major initiative to boost jobs, skills development, and resilience in the country's Far North region.
The programme, titled "Building Capacities and Skills for Employability and Entrepreneurship in the Far North Region of Cameroon" (CAP2E), was unveiled in Maroua on Friday. It seeks to create sustainable and inclusive jobs by strengthening human capital, stimulating local economic activity, and improving basic social infrastructure across the Far North Region.
The Bank Group is funding the CAP2E programme with €136 million (89.2 billion CFA), implementing it for the first time in Cameroon and Central Africa, through the results-based financing (RBF) mechanism. This approach ties disbursements to the verified achievement of predefined objectives. The programme will run for five years, from 2025 to 2030.
The event drew senior government officials and local authorities, including Midjiyawa Bakari, Governor of the Far North Region, representing Cameroon's Minister of Economy, Planning and Spatial Planning (MINEPAT). Other attendees included Mouhamed Gueye, Head of the Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development Division, representing the Director General of the African Development Bank for Central Africa; Haman-Djallo, President of the Regional Council, Sali Babani, the Mayor of Maroua, and representatives of the private sector and several sector ministries.
CAP2E focuses on three areas of intervention: strengthening the supply of technical and vocational training, supporting economic development and entrepreneurship, and upgrading basic social infrastructure.
"The programme aims to provide concrete solutions to major challenges: high youth unemployment, a mismatch between training and market needs, persistent socioeconomic fragility, inadequate infrastructure, and high vulnerability to the effects of climate change," Governor Bakari said.
In terms of training, the programme provides for the construction and equipping of 22 technical, technological and vocational centres, to improve learning conditions for current enrolment levels (nearly 30,000 young people) and increase enrolment by at least 20% (an additional 6,000 learners, 40 percent of whom are girls) while developing curricula aligned with private sector needs.
The programme will also finance the construction of 10 public and commercial facilities for private operators (including markets and shared service centres), as well as provide financial and technical support for 1,400 small and medium-sized enterprises. These include the refurbishment of 15 hospitals, 10 schools and four health centres, based on a gender-responsive and climate-resilient approach.
An unprecedented financing mechanism in Central Africa
Complementing traditional investment projects and budget support operations, RBF aims to strengthen the performance, accountability and national ownership of reforms, building on national systems - fiduciary, technical, environmental and social.
"Results-based financing is based on a strengthened partnership between the Bank and the Government, based on performance and verifiable results. It improves the efficiency of public spending by linking debt to actual achievements, while promoting multi-donor coordination around a common results framework," Gueye stressed.
Targets by 2029
By 2029, CAP2E aims for an 80 percent workplace integration rate among trained graduates, as well as the creation of 5,000 jobs, 60 percent of which are for young people and 40 percent for women, with a significant share being green jobs. Implementation is being led by the Special Programme for the Reconstruction and Development of the Far North Region (PSRDREN).
Programme Coordinator Alhadji Magra Massaou described the initiative as "a lever for transformation, an instrument of resilience," whose success will depend on strong coordination and results-driven execution.
The official launch followed a start-up workshop held in Maroua from 17 to 19 February 2026, which focused on strengthening institutional capacity and aligning stakeholders. A joint delegation from the African Development Bank and national authorities also conducted site visits to training institutions to be supported under the programme.
