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THE SOCIAL ECONOMY of CAMEROON Mapping the Structure of the SE of Cameroon

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Im YVETTE NKWAH KOABIGH (uc2012180406) THE SOCIAL ECONOMY OF CAMEROON Mapping the Structure of the SE of Cameroon Dissertation of the Masters in Roads to Democracy presented at the Faculty of Economics at the University of Coimbra Supervisor: Dr. Silvia Ferreira September 2016 YVETTE NKWAH KOABIGH The Social Economy of Cameroon Mapping the structure of the SE of Cameroon Dissertação de Mestrado em Democracia e governacao, apresentada à Faculdade de Economia da Universidade de Coimbra para obtenção do grau de Mestre. Orientadora: Doutor Silvia Ferreira Coimbra 2016 Image source: (Zikipediq, 2016) DEDICATION This work is dedicated to my entire family and loved ones without whose caring support it would not have been possible. Thank you all for walking with me through this journey. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I will like to acknowledge the dedication of my supervisor Dr. Silvia Ferreira, without whose constant encouragement and efforts there would not be a project. Special thanks goes to Mr. Ondobo Charles, sub-director of the development of the Social Economy under the Ministry of Small and Medium Size enterprises, Social Economy and Handicraft in Cameroon. It was very kind of him to take my work seriously and agree to be interviewed. Not only did he respond to my questionnaires, he also made sure I got the data I needed. For his sake, I do hope this work expresses the mission and vision of the Ministry. Family is gold and I am blessed with a large one. My parents in Cameroon have done their best to ensure I earn a post-graduate degree and I hope I made them proud. I thank my Aunt Wil Babei Evers (Holland) and her family for everything. Words are not enough to express my gratitude. May the Almighty continue to bless you all. I miss my siblings during my stay in Portugal but survived thanks to the long calls. Thank you all for the words of encouragement. Finally, to my friend/sister Senge Raissa Etuge, thank you for being my interviewer. You made yourself present where I couldn’t be and had to study about the Social Economy so that you could carry out an informative interview for me. I am very grateful. ii TABLE OF CONTENT DEDICATION ..................................................................................................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................... ii TABLE OF CONTENT ....................................................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES ......................................................................................................... vi ACRONYMS ................................................................................................................................... vii ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER ONE ................................................................................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER TWO .............................................................................................................................. 13 LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................................................................... 13 2.1 Background History of the Social Economy ............................................................................ 13 2.1.1 Concepts of the social economy and neighborhood concepts…………………….…………………..15 2.1.2 The variety of the social economy in the world……………………………………………………………..21 2.2The institutions of the social economy .................................................................................... 28 2.2.1 The Organizational and legal forms…………………………………………………….………………………….29 2.2.2 Policies and frameworks aimed at the social economy …………………………………………………..36 2.3 The Roles of the social economy ............................................................................................ 39 2.4 Challenges of the social economy........................................................................................... 47 2.5 Research on the SE in Cameroon ............................................................................................ 49 iii CHAPTER THREE ............................................................................................................................ 53 THE SOCIAL ECONOMY FRAMEWORK IN CAMEROON ................................................................. 53 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 53 3.2 Definition of the SE in Cameroon. .......................................................................................... 54 3.3 Types of SEOs and Regulatory Frameworks in Cameroon ...................................................... 58 3.3.1 Associations …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...61 3.3.2 Cooperatives……………………………………………………………………………………………………….………….62 3.3.3 Common Initiative Groups (CIGs)……………………………………………………………………….…….…....66 3.3.4 Credit Unions………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 67 3.3.5 Mutuals ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..….70 3.3.6 Village Development Associations………………………………………………………………………………....71 3.3.7 Federations and Confederations…………………………………………………………………………….……..72 3.3.8 Tontines…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....73 3.3.9 NGOs…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….75 3.4 Government Supervisory Agencies of the SE……………………………………………………………………81 3.4.1 Events Associated with the SE OF Cameroon…………………………………………….…………………..81 3.5 Role of the Social Economy in Cameroon ............................................................................... 81 3.5.1 Government Vision and strategies………………………………………………………………………………….84 3.5.2 Types of Roles of the SE…………………………………………………………………………………………..……..85 3.6 Challenges of the SE in Cameroon ......................................................................................... 87 3.7 Case-Study: The Centre Region of Cameroon……………………………………………………….…………….88 3.7.1 Characterization of the Centre Region……………………………………………………………….….………..93 iv 3.7.2 SE of the Center Region of Cameroon………………………………………………………………………….…98 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................. 102 References .................................................................................................................................. 110 Appendices Draft law of the SE by the Ministry Questionnaire for Minister of Social economy: Cameroon. Transcribed Audio v LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1: Differences between the non-profit organizations and the SE…………………. 19 Table 2: Legal instruments and their domain of application…………………………………...60 Table 3: Examples of NGOs in Cameroon………………………………………………………………. 76 Table 4: Registered SE organizations in the Center Region-Yaoundé……………………… 98 Figure 1: The center region of Cameroon with its ten departments………………………. 92 vi ACRONYMS AIM International Association of Mutual Organizations ACCOSCA African Confederation of Cooperatives Savings and Credit Association CamCCUL Cameroon Cooperative Credit Union League CIGs Common Initiative Groups CNLAMCA National Liaison Committee for Co-Operatives, Mutuals and Associations DESA Directorate of the Social Economy and Handicraft FAO Food and Agriculture Organization GICs Groups D’interet Commun ICA International Cooperative Alliance ICCO International Cocao Farmers Organization ICMIF International Cooperatives and Mutual Insurance Federation ILO International Labour Organization IMF International Monetary Fund LETS Local Exchange Trading Scheme MDGs Millenium Development Goals MINPMEESA Ministry for Small and Medium Enterpises, Social Economy, and Handicraft MINADER Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development MINEPAT Ministry of Economy, Planning and Regional Development MINJEC Ministry of Youths and Civic Education NGOs Non Governmental Organizations vii RAESS Réseau Africain de l’Économie Sociale et Solidaire. - SSE Regional Office for Africa. RIPESS Réseau Intercontinental de Promotion de l'Économie Social Solidaire1 SE Social Economy SEOs Social Economy Organizations SOSUCAM Société Sucrerie du Cameroun SSE Solidarity and Social Economy SHG Self-Help Groups UNRISD United Nations Research Institute for Social Development UNIDO United Nations International Development Organization UNDP United Nations Development program UNEP United Nations Environment Program VDAs Village Development Associations WOCCU World Council of Credit Unions XVI Sixteenth Century 1 English: The intercontinental Network of the promotion of the Social Economy viii ABSTRACT The Social economy encompasses activities aimed at experimenting with new operating models for the economy, such as: local trade systems, community currencies and social integration through economic activity usually with the goal of providing goods and services. The objective of this work is to map the Social economy of Cameroon. This implies examining the state of the social economy of Cameroon from the local perspective. This case study oriented dissertation made use of an interview, qualitative and quantitative
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