From August 2024 to July 2025, together with our partner association J2DC, we trained 60 young people in Douala and Foumban as motorcycle mechanics. At the same time, a campaign promoted road safety, helmet use, and environmental protection.
60
motorcycle mechanics trained
50
Class A driver’s licenses
750
motorcycle taxi drivers reached
250
young people received career advice
The starting point
Tens of thousands of young girls and internally displaced people in Douala and Foumban cannot earn an adequate income and live in great poverty. Even many people with qualifications and work experience cannot find a job. Training in mechanics is out of reach for disadvantaged young people: it costs money, opportunities are rare, and women are pushed to the margins in some sectors.
In Douala and Foumban, motorcycles are the most commonly used means of transport. Many young people with no prospects drive motorcycle taxis because it quickly earns them enough to survive. But the job brings problems with it: for road safety, for health protection, and for the environment. Many drivers also know little about other career options.
What we did
Motorcycle mechanics training
For ten months, the participants learned the trade: 42 at a center for the integration of young people in Douala and 18 at the vocational school CENSAMA in Foumban. The training included internships in LIFAN and BAJAJ workshops as well as units on road safety, the environment, and health protection.
Class A driver’s license
We supported 50 people on their way to a motorcycle license. With help from the driving schools IMANE Service and Noun, they passed the test in March 2025.
Road safety campaign
The campaign focused on safe riding, helmets, and environmental protection. We promoted protective equipment and made it easier to use. In Foumban, we had a stand at the NGOUON festival, which draws up to 20,000 visitors.
Career counseling
Young people received advice on employment, self-employment, and income planning. Instead of the planned 200, 250 took up the offer.
What we achieved
- 60 young people are now trained motorcycle mechanics: 15 women and 45 men, 25 of them internally displaced.
- 22 young people found work afterward, and 18 became self-employed. Twelve enrolled at the vocational school in Foumban, and 15 began a qualification in the media sector.
- Around 1,000 people were reached directly by the road safety campaign, including 750 motorcycle taxi drivers.
- Around 35,000 people were reached by accompanying radio programs, according to our estimate.
- The course continues: the training center in Foumban now offers it every two years.
Our cooperation with J2DC
Our cooperation with J2DC began in 2022 with the sewing training for internally displaced women in Douala. Directly after the motorcycle mechanics training came our third joint project, the training in small-livestock farming and feed production.
The project was funded through the small projects fund for development cooperation (EZ-Kleinprojektefonds) of the Stiftung Nord-Süd-Brücken (North-South Bridges Foundation) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
