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(Business in Cameroon) - The University of Ngaoundéré is currently promoting local beers produced by its biochemistry students.
According to the university, the students produced the local beers in laboratories using cassava and millet. They named the first Mbong (as cassava is called locally) and the second one is Sembe (millet in the local dialect).
The university informs that the beers are an alternative to fill the raw materials’ deficit that usually forces brewing companies to resort to importations to meet their corn Gritz needs (in 2019, Cameroon’s corn production deficit was about 500,000 tons).
For instance, Maïserie du Cameroun (Maïscam), one of the large agribusiness companies operating in the Northern region, produces just 10,000 tons of grits yearly. That production is usually quickly absorbed by SABC leaving no other choice to the other brewing companies (UCB, Guinness.) than to import their needs.
New housing construction at risk of rock falls in Ngaoundéré. Photo: Michel Tchotsoua
Like many urban areas in Africa, the city of Ngaoundéré, Cameroon has seen a rapid increase in its population, from roughly 180,000 in 2005 to almost 290,000 in 2020. This urban growth has been largely unplanned, with rural migrants often occupying areas within flood plains or along mountain slopes, vulnerable to flooding and rock falls. Such disasters regularly wreak havoc on citizens’ lives and lead to increased exposure to disease, food shortages, and financial vulnerabilities. This nexus of rapid, unplanned urban growth and increased exposure to natural hazards is especially problematic for local governments who lack data to formulate accurate and efficient policy responses. How do you address a problem you cannot measure?