Improving Agriculture : French Partners Evaluate Impacts

One of Cameroon's development partners, Proparco, a subsidiary of the French Development Agency (Afd) has been assessing the impact of projects it has funded in the domain of agriculture and finance within the Littoral Region. Officials of the organisation were in the Moungo and Wouri Divisions from the 30-31March 2023 to get firsthand information on how beneficiaries have been progressing.  While in the Moungo Division, the partners visited pepper, pineapple, paw paw, plantain, and water melon farms in Loum, Lowe and Nkapa where they visited a local oil mill. There on the field, the different beneficiaries explained how the grant received from Proparco through Acep microfinance has helped them. 
Victorine Nkiese who owns the oil mill in Nkapa, said she has benefitted twice from Proparco loan through Advans microfinance, the first was CFA 2 million and the second CFA 3 million permitted her to acquire a grinder that she uses to squeeze out oil from the palm fruit. She said at the moment, other people in the palm oil production sector pay her to use her grinder which is also income-generating. She added that at the moment, she has 10 workers and the loan has also permitted her expand her farms and open up other businesses. Another beneficiary is Nohi enterprise which is involved in the transformation of cocoa into different chocolate products. They also visited education institutions like Enko International School where they have offered grants for the improvement of teaching and learning. The officials from Proparco also visited the Acep and Advans mirco finance institutions in Douala through which they have been financing small and medium-sized enterprises over the years.
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