EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This study on The Impact of Microfinance Institution in the Economy of Cameroon was set out to assess the role CECAW Mokolo microfinance finance institutions plays in the growth of small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) through provision of financial and non-financial services. To this effect, the impact of taxes, management efficiency level and cost of finance were selected variables used to assess SMEs growth.

We made use of a descriptive statistical method and analyze the data obtained from primary sources using regression and analysis of variance in light of the selected hypothesis. It was revealed that Microfinance institutions played their roles as providers of funds.

However, these loans were not accountable for SME growth, as very few had access to these service. Instead, management efficiency, interest rates and tax charges were identified as of utmost importance in issues relating to growth.

We therefore recommended that SMEs owners in the economy of Cameroon should develop techniques to improve their credit worthiness, develop a balance scorecard for their business and implement separate entities  between the business’s resources and their personal resources.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background study of the internship

Internship is the requirement by the university of Bamenda as a partial fulfillment for the award of a bachelor’s degree. It intends to match theory to practice by enabling candidates have a gross overview of the various activities performed in all departments of the organization.

Against this background, I was privilege to be an intern at CECAW MOKOLO, for a period of one month. It covered the period of 1st of September to 1st of October and was guided by a supervisor Mr Kang Eric. Internships are usually arranged by third party organization which recruits interns on behalf of industry groups.

1.1 The Objectives Of Internship

The following are some of the objectives of industrial training:

1)         To allow students to get acquainted to the procedures of business of most organizations and to prepare themselves for future engagement into the related fields. When a student carries out an internship[ program, most of the loopholes are filled so that the student is well prepared and courageous to do what is necessary at a particular time, thus the aspect of internship cannot be under looked as far as professionalism is concerned.

2)         To allow students to apply theoretical knowledge acquired during their university studies to practice. With these aspects, students are capable of seeing and applying practically what was actually taught in their classroom. Practice is very important as it enables students to actually see in practical terms. Corrections are made where mistakes were committed during the time of classroom studies.

3)         To provide students with preliminary work experience that can prepare them for future careers. After internship combined with theory learned in class, students are almost halfway prepared to do  their jobs at their job sides whenever they are called upon to take any task

4)         To improve their skills that will help them in the future to find a job or create one. After the completion of an internship program, students are impacted with knowledge and ideals that will help them get a job or create one for themselves. Thus reduces the level of unemployment in a country, especially Cameroon where unemployment is rampant.

5)         To serve the purpose of pre-orientation to the choice of specialization while permitting to establish contact in business society.

Above all, the main objective of internship is to help students relate theory and practice. This is; develop an ongoing relationship between the academic and practitioner community while orientating them on the carrier area they may wish to pursue in the future. Also enhances their understanding of organizational and group process and their awareness of public service obligations

1.1 Definition Of Terms

Internship

Internship or industrial training is an opportunity to intergrade career related real world experienced into and undergraduate education by participating in plant, supervised work while exploring and gaining relevant knowledge and skills required to enter a particular field of work or career field. Internship even though relatively short term in nature has a primary focus to incorporate on the job training and classroom exercise and its application in real world. Interns are usually high school students, university student and even adults interested in carrying out new career plans.

Thus many university students do internship to gain relevant skills in particular carrier fields, both in the private and public sector as well as to determine if they have genuine interest in the field. This contributes to the students personal and professional developments through challenging work assignments. It involves supervision components i.e. mentoring and educational and includes career related experience that compliment what is learned in the class room. The department of economic and management recognizes the diversity and makes every effort to accommodate the needs of employers and the academic interest if the students since internship varies greatly in terms of what the employer requires of the student.

Cooperative Education: This is a three-way partnership between a student, an employer and a college and or university. It allows the students to integrate work experience into their academic’s studies for credit

Field Experience: it’s an opportunity most commonly used by students pursuing careers in science or sociology to develop skills by observing, recording, mapping and interpreting data. Research may be limited to one subject like business protocol.

Practicum: It is another type of internship which enables students to apply their academic experience to real world project. Students work in team or individually under the joint supervision of an academic adviser.

Service Learning: It allows you to work in organized service within a community you might work in an elementary, secondary school, institution of learning or community services program.

Externship: It is another type of internship distinguished by their short duration. The intern spent a shorter period of time observing and often working with professionals in their career field of choice.

Apprenticeship: With apprenticeship, the student is offered both practical experience and school training, wages are paid and wages increases with experience.

The above are the most common type of internship, but I carried out the cooperative or academic internship and there are many reasons why students need to carry out internship as seen below

Characteristics of internship

Generally, internship contributes to student’s personal and professional carrier development through challenging work assignment and having it completed before the student graduates from the university.

Furthermore, it is planned and controlled scheduled as it works perfectly in consultation with all departments of the company or organization as well as fits into the undergraduate’s experience, hence, interns are required to write and  present an account of their experience or work carried out during the training period.

Internship is an integration of departments, collages, universities and employers. It presents an attempt to bring together department, colleges, universities and employers to a common way of producing the daily and efficient workers capable of handling effective needs of  customers, it also helps to foster collaborations between these institutions.

The intern is constantly monitored receives lectures on the various activities of each departments as it unfolds. At the end, students usually have a reflection and evaluation process to examine the depth of skills acquired.

1.4. Importance of Internship

To the Students.

-Internship helps the students to become more mature and confident of their own capabilities, develop personal skills by gaining professional skills.

-Internship also offers students the opportunities to work in career related or professional environment.

-Students are able to enhance classroom experience and further develop and practice the required skills to solve emerging business problems.

-It also gives students a broad knowledge of the various careers available in life.

-It also helps make classroom learning more interesting and helps develop job search skills

To the Employer

-Internship gives employers access to qualified candidates or potential employees

-It reduces training cost on the employers.

-Interns also contribute new ideals to the work place.

-Internship also helps the employer to evaluate the students for potential full time employment.

-Scheduling can be flexible to meet the employers need for work.

To the Department/University

-Internship strengthens the ties between the university and the community. In line with this, the University works collaboratively to satisfy the intellectual needs of the community in general and the employer in particular.

-Make transfer out process easier for students in this way, students leaving the university get acquainted to the work environment without difficulties.

CHAPTER TWO

PRESENTATION OF CECAW MOKOLO

2.2.1 Historical Background Of CECAW MOKOLO

The CECAW MOKOLO MFI is a category one of the micro financial service and credit cooperation and second largest cooperative in the CECAW FINANCE network of Cameroon in the CEMAC zone. CECAW MOKOLO started in 1969 by some members of the west Cameroon Community held in the police recreation hall on the 5th of February 1969.

This was after a joint meeting of all credit unions held in Kumba with 13 registered in attendance. This union was held on the 1st of December 1973 with the registration number WC469. CECAW MOKOLO started as a credit union just to serve the community and later on extended its common bounds to accept civilians as members in 1981 because of its small number. Today, 80% of CECAW MOKOLO members are civilians.

The union office which is located at the Mankon police recreation was burned along with the mobile police station. The fire disaster consumed all the unions’ record and the assests that were at that time. The book keeper and the board together with the assistance of the officers reconstructed the accounts of the union using the individual ledger extracts that were at the league and members passbook.

On the 2nd of February 1989, the union’s building was inaugurated and on the 2nd of February 1994, the unions building was unregistered by the provincial service for the Northwest province with registration number NW/Co/28/100 in accordance with law number No92/20061 of 14th August 1992 rising to cooperative and common initiative groups and its decree of application number 92/455/pm/ of the 23rd of November 1992.

In May 1994, transactions in the union were computerized. The union was later on transferred from old town Treasury Street to Commercial Avenue in its permanent building where the head office is presently located.

CECAW MOKOLO so far has branches in Yaounde at Bitem-Assi, two in Douala (camp Yabassi and Bonaberi, grand Hanger), in Nkambe, Makenene, Foumbot, Mbot, Ndu, Kumba, and another in Bafia and too in Yaounde branch at Ghana street where I did my internship..theYaounde branch was opened on the 16 of August 2008 with MrNtumfor Ignatius as manager assisted by two other workers. All has been doing well in the areas of membership, savings mobilizing, deposit and loan patronage.

Today, CECAW MOKOLO has continued to be upward growing as the year 2010 saw the acquiring of the new salary code, from the ministry of finance, to be used by the union in paying the salary of civil servants in some towns within the national territory which has necessitated the union to open more branches in different towns of the country.

The loan delinquency has continued to be a problem even though the loan recovery task force has been leaving no stone unturned fighting against delinquency.

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