Anglophone Crisis: A Trigger for Talent Identification

The crises in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon has displaced many persons, separated homes and families and have rendered many more people from these parts of the country being homeless and internally displaced. Some youths from the conflict hit regions have rather used the crisis to pick up the initiative of self-employment and learning of handmade goodies, a good example of these young Cameroonians, now called positive opportunists is Ngalim Hermina.

Swimsuit produced by Ngalim Hermina

A victim of what is now known as the Anglophone crisis; she was forced out of her hometown, Nso. At 19, Ngalim Hermina appears to be one person who grab opportunities and face the challenges that comes with it. She is multi-talented with skills to empower, breaking limits in an industry with little or no support in her eco system. Young Ngalim Hermina has put aside time to work from home and supply the ever rising demand in the sector of crocheting both at home and abroad as she states “I sell my products nation and worldwide”. She now makes a living from crocheting.

Swimsuit produced by Ngalim Hermina

She has ventured into the field of crocheting; a business which is gaining grounds in some parts of the nation. She is now boss of Mina Crochets Social Entrepreneur design, a start-up venture by Ngalim Hermina which has seen the light of day as she is effortlessly paving her way to put up multi-dimensional designs in the Cameroon fashion market. The venture is located in Baffousam, West region of Cameroon.

Cameroonians will need to go down the beaches of Kribi and Limbe in her well designed quality swim wears available in all sizes and designs. 

In addition to this, there are readily available stocks for newborns and toddlers which prevent them from catching a cold during the rainy season.

Crochets for children

"It is time we support our own and give the young people the will they need to drive the social economy of Cameroon", Ngalim Hermina told The Safeguard. Her wish however is sticking to bringing out the beauty of modern day swim wears and crochets that are of good quality for every client as she cries out “…people do not value handmade things in Cameroon because they think it’s not worth it. They are wrong though, that is the mentality they have”.

My Motivation for This Business

“I decided to embark on crocheting because I grew up with my mum who is a craft woman, so I have always loved to do things with my hands. Well, I started crocheting in 2017 and I took it as a business in December 2018. When I started I did mostly baby wears but then I wanted to stand out so I decided to merge baby wears with beach wears. I came about this idea when I had my “A” level in 2018 and could not further my education because of finance so I had to take it serious”.

"My Biggest setback is that people don't value handmade things in Cameroon because they think it's not worth it and also inadequate finance; at times I really want to take things to another level but I cannot because of financial issues”, the young social entrepreneur said.

In every start-up there are usually setbacks. To Ngalim Hermina, her greatest challenge is the fact that many people do not value handmade goods.

By Mbehni Drusilla Nange