The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) has recently teamed up with the FEMADS Association to provide vocational training for Cameroonian women in an effort to foster empowerment and self-reliance among them. While 19 women were enrolled in this year’s training program, which focused on pastry, the aim of the plan is to reach roughly 90 women every year.

After completing the three-month training program (which included a variety of topics including the preparation of various pastry products, as well as business strategies such as marketing), the women who participated attended a closing ceremony to mark their success.

The ceremony was attended by several prominent figures including the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Family, the Ministry of Employment and Professional Training, FEMADS Association representatives, Türkiye’s Temporary Acting Ambassador to Yaounde, Handan Hilal Köse, and TİKA’s Coordinator in Yaounde, Burak Özden.

Following the training program, support in the form of equipment and advice is available to the participants to enable them to seek employment in established businesses or to start their own businesses or ventures using their new pastry skills.

This project assists not only the women, who are able to earn money through their new pastry skills, but also the larger community of Yaounde, Cameroon, where the training was based.

Image: Pastry training provided to Cameroonian women