HENRY
Fisherman.
Beneficiary of the support for small entrepreneurs program in Cameroon.
Since 1998, the IECD and its local partner Cameroun Entreprises Développement (CED) have implemented the Support for Small Enterprises (VSE) program, which accompanies heads of small businesses or start-up entrepreneurs in the creation, consolidation and permanence of their activity. Cameroon is the first country to implement the program. The activities are now deployed in five centers allowing a network to be created in the country in order to reach entrepreneurs in all regions.
Henry has five small fishing boats and a cold storage room, he is a small-scale trader at the Community Local Fishing Center in Kribi (CECOPAK). Since 2014, he has followed most of the courses offered by CED.
“Before following the different courses, my business was not progressing and I couldn’t understand why. I had nothing to protect me and I was getting by without ever knowing where I was going.
Since then, my method of managing my business has changed a great deal. My company’s organization is no longer centered on me. I have learned how to delegate and also how to make my staff responsible, so much so that, now, my work is more about coordinating and supervising. This means that I can enjoy some free time with my family and also that I have some time for myself.
Faced with some of my staff’s difficulties in understanding and progressing, I decided to send them on the same course as me and their outlook has changed.
I am very successful and I have become a sort of reference for others. I encourage them to follow the CED’s courses.
Often, bosses think they know it all: a serious error. They are always running out of money and repeating the same mistakes! ”
