The organization of National Solidarity and Social Entrepreneurship Week is a major activity included in the Ministry of Social Affairs' Program 559 "National Solidarity and Social Justice," aimed at facilitating access to productive resources for socially vulnerable people through community mobilization and partnership.
Indeed, in accordance with the missions assigned to it by the Head of State in Decree No. 2011/408 of December 9, 2011, on the organization of the Government, it is imperative for MINAS to align with the growth objectives set out in the Development Vision "Cameroon, an emerging democratic country united in its diversity by 2035," with particular attention to transforming social vulnerabilities into development opportunities.
To this end, the Minister of Social Affairs has focused his actions at the head of the ministerial department on the promotion of social entrepreneurship. The rationale for this strategic option is based on the logic that, by being deployed primarily in the nonprofit and private sectors, social entrepreneurship can enable the ministerial department to mobilize additional resources necessary for the social and economic inclusion of Socially Vulnerable People. It can thus contribute to their transformation from social burdens to growth drivers, through their empowerment.
With this in mind, priority areas for operationalizing the concept of social entrepreneurship were identified during the Annual Conference of Heads of Central and Decentralized Services of MINAS, extended to organizations under its supervision, held from January 27 to 29, 2016. The theme of the conference was precisely: "Social Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Development Goals: Guarantees for the Participation of Socially Vulnerable People in Cameroon's Emerging Market by 2035." During the Social Entrepreneurship Concept appropriation and operationalization workshop held on May 10, 2016, mechanisms were identified to ensure the concept's anchoring in MINAS's professional practice at all levels: central, decentralized, and operational. During these discussions, the importance of mobilizing Private Social Works (PSWs) was reiterated. To this end, and following a national preparatory workshop, the 1st PSW Conference was held in Yaoundé from October 26 to 27, 2017, with the main recommendations being the establishment of a National Network of PSWs in Cameroon and the convening of a 2nd Conference in 2017 dedicated to the establishment of said structure. At the same time, Minas has continued to develop partnerships with corporate citizens, corporate foundations and other humanitarian associations in order to respond to the strong demand for national solidarity from socially vulnerable people. It therefore seems appropriate to ensure greater visibility of these cooperation actions and at the same time to question the current state of cooperation in Minas with a view to revitalizing it.