"Dear members of the diaspora, I am GOURA BELADJI, Mayor of the city of Garoua; The development of our city is everyone's business. We need you! Join us to contribute to the development of our city! Together, let's make our city a place of prosperity and pride! 🇨🇲 I invite you to join and support our various school rehabilitation projects and in other sectors such as health, the environment, culture, tourism, urban infrastructure... because your contributions are essential for the inclusive development of our city and to improve the education of our young people. Together, let's make Garoua a city where the future is built sustainably. The Mayor of the city of Garoua"
In charge of Cooperation and Partnership
Garoua, capital city of the North region of Cameroon, is a booming city. With a population estimated at about 900,000 inhabitants in 2022, it is the third most populous city in the country. Key figures: - Area: 8,500 ha - Population: 900,000 inhabitants (2022) - International airport with a capacity of 1.5 million passengers and 5,000 tonnes of freight per year - River port on the Bénoué: currently non-functional Some major projects: - modernization of the urban transport system with electric buses; - Development of the industrial sector, with the presence of companies such as Sodecoton, CICAM, and AES/SONEL; - Development of the city's urban infrastructure; - Promotion of tourism, with the presence of sites such as Waza National Park, Benue National Park, and the Faro Reserve. Garoua is a city on the move, with ambitious projects to improve the quality of life of its inhabitants and develop its economy.
Interlocuteur dédié (email, tel…)
Travail ou collaboration à distance
Mise à disposition de locaux et matériels
Accès à un réseau de prestataires agrées
Assistance projets
In view of the strong population growth observed in Cameroonian cities and the challenges posed by the strong and rapid urbanization of our cities, and given the major gap that exists between the transferred competencies and the resources made available by the State to cities in Cameroon, and particularly the Garoua Urban Community, the city intends to energize its international actions in order to access resources and expertise to support its development and improve the quality of life of its inhabitants. The stakes being: Economic development: international partners can provide investment, technologies, and expertise to stimulate the local economy and create jobs. - Access to financial resources: International partners can provide funding for development projects, such as infrastructure, public services, and social programs. - Exchange of expertise and knowledge: International partners can share their experiences and knowledge to help the municipality improve its services and solve specific problems. - Sustainable development: International partners can help the municipality implement sustainable development practices, such as environmental management and poverty reduction. - Capacity building: International partners can help the municipality strengthen its institutional capacities and improve its governance. - Access to innovative technologies: International partners can provide innovative technologies to help the city solve specific problems, such as water and energy management. - Decentralized cooperation: International partners can help the city develop decentralized cooperation relationships with other municipalities/cities or regions of the world.
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Youth unemployment in Garoua is a major problem, with an unemployment rate estimated at over 35% in Cameroon in 2020. Young people in Garoua face challenges such as a lack of professional experience, the poor quality of education, and increased competition for the available jobs. To address this problem, the Garoua City Council launched an initiative to create a vocational training center for urban trades such as metal and wood carpentry, plumbing, electricity and electronics, construction (BTP), and rapid training for office employees such as executive secretarial work, web development, and graphic design, in order to enable young people to develop practical skills, integrate into the labor market, and find jobs that are both sustainable and decent. The objectives of the training center are: - To train young people in urban trades to meet the needs of the labor market; - To develop entrepreneurship among young people to create jobs and stimulate the local economy; - To reduce unemployment by offering job opportunities to young graduates; However, the City Council severely lacks the resources to rehabilitate the said training center, particularly with regard to buildings, machines, furniture, and other equipment needed to provide suitable training for the young people of the city of Garoua. This explains why this training center is currently non-operational despite obtaining the vocational training accreditation issued by the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training. The failure to make this project operational as planned worsens the problems linked to youth unemployment in urban areas, which gives rise to many other forms of vice and excess observed among young people and in the city, such as the consumption of psychotropic substances, banditry, incivility, rural exodus, and even illegal migration.
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In the current road mapping of the city of Garoua, cycle paths and pedestrian zones are not developed. This situation exposes users to traffic accident risks. Pedestrians and cyclists are the most exposed. The city also faces heat peaks that are the direct consequences of the heavy use of motorbikes and vehicles, which strongly increase the city's carbon emissions.
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The Garoua river port, located on the Bénoué River in northern Cameroon, is a historic infrastructure and a major, currently underused economic asset. Intended to facilitate the transport of goods between Cameroon, Nigeria, and landlocked countries (Chad, Central African Republic), it could become a vital regional logistics hub. However, its infrastructure is dilapidated, the river suffers from silting that limits navigation, the equipment is obsolete, and integrated logistics chains are lacking. This mission aims to modernize this key infrastructure to unlock its economic and regional potential.
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In Garoua, youth unemployment is a major challenge and a source of precariousness and delinquency. This mission aims to amplify the efforts of the Garoua Urban Community and local NGOs (such as AJSGA) that are already working on the professional integration, training, and civic engagement of young people. We mobilize the diaspora to bring skills, investments, and concrete opportunities, in order to strengthen the employability and empowerment of the region's youth.
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The city of Garoua, located in the North of Cameroon, holds considerable economic potential in agro-industry (cotton, maize, millet, peanuts), cross-border trade (proximity to Nigeria/Chad, Kribi-Garoua corridor), logistics (river port on the Bénoué), real estate, and tourism. However, it faces major challenges: high unemployment, a largely informal economy, insufficient infrastructure, and a low level of industrial processing. This mission aims to mobilize the diaspora to make structuring and targeted investments, in order to transform these opportunities into sustainable economic growth and massive job creation, particularly for the region's young people. The aim is to develop local value chains, modernize key sectors, and strengthen productive capacities.
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In Garoua, public primary schools, particularly those located on the outskirts (Garoua 2, Garoua 3) and in adjacent rural areas, face major challenges. Many lack basic infrastructure such as permanent classrooms, solid roofs, and secure fencing. Furniture is often insufficient, forcing students to share benches, and class sizes can exceed 80 students. Access to drinking water is limited and sanitary facilities are often non-existent or not separated for girls and boys, impacting girls' school attendance. Moreover, modern educational equipment (libraries, computer rooms) is rare. This mission aims to address these urgent needs through the rehabilitation of classrooms (roofs, floors, paint), the construction of modern sanitation blocks, the installation of boreholes, the provision of desk-benches, the creation of computer rooms, and the funding of school canteens.
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In Garoua, the community-space reforestation project responds to a Sahelian climate marked by extreme conditions. The city experiences very high temperatures, which can exceed 43°C, with recent records close to 47°C. It is also exposed to recurrent flooding with significant impacts. Drought and irregular rainfall greatly weaken local agriculture. The prolonged dry season causes water stress and disrupts agricultural cycles. Soil degradation and aggressive rains worsen environmental vulnerability. Reforestation appears as a key solution to restore the ecosystem and improve urban resilience.
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Garoua is a rapidly growing multicultural agglomeration and the third most populous city in Cameroon. The Bénoué River, which crosses through its center, constitutes a vital force in this semi-arid environment. The city is committed to low-emission development, while adapting to climate change and providing its population with access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy. The Garoua Urban Community and the three district municipalities joined the CoM SSA in 2018 and 2019, thus joining more than 250 African cities in their fight against climate change. The signatories commit to establishing and implementing a Sustainable Energy Access and Climate Action Plan (SEACAP). Strategic and operational, the SEACAP is a concrete plan enabling the city to adopt a low-greenhouse-gas (GHG) emission development trajectory, ensure access to sustainable energy, and strengthen its resilience to the impacts of climate change. It echoes existing policies and plans and will enable Garoua to contribute to national climate commitments.
View details →MOHAMADOU BIBRANG
Chargé de Coopération et partenariat, point focal Diaspora ville de Garoua
