Research & Counselling Foundation for African Migrants

We are applying for the Elevate Prize for an entrepreneurial training and Information and communications technology (ICT) centers for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) affected by the ongoing crisis in the two Cameroon English speaking regions (Northwest and Southwest) since 2016 till date.

If selected for the Elevate Prize, we will use the fund to established vocational entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial skills training and ICT centers for IDP/refugees in Cameroon. The ICT centers for IDP’s school dropout children to learn computer vis a vis introduction to online e-Learning platform and offline learning to enable the children to catch-up with their education. The ongoing Anglophone crisis in Cameroon have lived through general strikes, school boycotts, numerous atrocities such as assassination, theft, rape, abduction, extortion, etc.

The vocational entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial skills training will have an incubated fund for the IDPs/refugees who successfully goes through the training and come out with innovative ideas. The revolve incubate fund will enable them startup their innovative businesses in camps and continue it in their various communities after the crisis. The organization intend to turn the incubated fund into a revolve fund to support innovative ideas in selected communities even for community members.

My name is Alfred Mbinglo, a prince from Nso Kingdom in the Northwest region of Cameroon. I am the founder/director of Research & Counselling Foundation for African Migrants (RECFAM), Author, entrepreneur, CEO Skyworld Resources Limited, co-founder of Tume Integrated Empowerment College, president of Network of African Organizations for Migration and Development and founder of AfriPride Sanitary pads - RECFAM Social Enterprise that produce bio-degradable sanitary pads out of banana/plantain fibre for rural school girls/women who lack access to proper menstrual hygiene products.

My vision is to create enabling environment for all with the clear objectives that ensures expectations are delivered and maintained.

RECFAM’s assist the marginalized groups, vulnerable children, IDPs/refugees in providing sustainable and professional/skill reintegration services, promote gender equality, social diversity; offered counselling, create awareness on irregular migration/human trafficking among others without prejudice; while encouraging entrepreneurial skills training for accelerated socio-economic development.

I believe that persistence with goals give lives meaning. Therefore, my goal is to established a revolving sustainable incubated fund in order to empower communities in sustainable development; inspiring and motivational leader with a passion for Africa development and a beacon of hope for the voiceless, vulnerable children, women/marginalized groups, trafficked victims, migrants, IDPs and refugees.

We are solving the problem of IDPs/refugees reintegration, lack of skill acquisitions among some IDPs/refugees during/after crisis, poverty, lack of education for IDP’s children and incubated fund for IDPs/refugees.

In Cameroon, the Anglophone crisis in Northwest and Southwest Regions has displacement 740,000 people as of 31st March, 2020, and in Far North 559,000 because of armed conflict. Approximately 52% of the displaced are women, with children representing 44.5% of IDP population. 

Globally, 45.7 million people are living in internal displacement as a result of conflict and violence in 61 countries according to GRID.

The conflict in Cameroon Anglophone regions started in 2016 with the strikes of teachers and lawyers about poor working conditions. It has now escalated to what is now known as Anglophone problem; homes burnt down, people kidnapped and murdered, school boycotts, etc. Displaced women forced to turn to sex work - BBC Focus on Africa report in 22nd April, 2021.

RECFAM conducts evidence-based quantitative and qualitative research that raises awareness of the motivating factors. Based on the outcome of the research, the organization develops pragmatic approaches to counter the problems by working in close collaboration with various stakeholders, to provide comprehensive solutions for accelerated socio-economic development.

We are alleviating poverty from IDs, refugees and communities with our own skills. We identified opportunities available for IDPs and refugees that can also be implemented at their communities of origin and empower them to take the opportunities. We are building community empowerers through our vocational entrepreneurship/entrepreneurial skills training and ICT. We speak their own language, and build community of leading entrepreneurs, inventors, corporate partners and ecosystem players that will spans across the continent with their own skills.

The setting up of an ICT centers create virtual learning environments vis-à-vis introduction to e-Learning and offline for IPDs and their children in English, French and own local dialects to catch-up with the rest of world is paramount.  

The establishment of revolve incubated fund helps our target audience grow their network and companies as well as develop ideas from ground zero to navigate the tide of uncertainty.  

RECFAM encourage and actively support collaboration between IDPs, refugees, women, marginalized groups, school dropout, farmers, young girls/boys, community opinion leaders, indigenous leaders (Chiefs), CSOs and governmental agencies in providing assistance to the creation of a synergy mechanism to improve the overall skills of local workforce, community-led transformation, environment and improved labor productivity. 

Inclusivity and not exclusivity that divulge problems as opportunities for empowerment for sustainable development are our core values to impact humanity.

We propose to start vocational entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial development training centre, as part of the showcase of western interest in self-sustainable development of the African continent, that will train participants in entrepreneurial skills, ICT and artisanal trades. This will be situated at IDPs/refugees camps, migrants’ pro community and further replication across the geopolitical regions of the country where both resources and market are most available in the first instance.  

Small business and financial training and support. The greatest challenges faced by trained entrepreneurs or graduates of most business and vocational/technical institutes stem from inadequate exposure to and understanding of the mechanics of business and finance. Without sufficient entrepreneurial know-how, start-up capital and small business support, they are ill-equipped to start their own small-scale enterprises; they often run the risk of losing the valuable skills they have acquired.

RECFAM shall setup a revolve incubated fund to empower IDPs, refugees and marginalized group who successfully graduated form the entrepreneurship training to enable them become small businesses leaders and create employment opportunities within their respective communities.