PUBLISHED: 2026-06-10

Jaff Gillian Vernyuy and Negou Ernest

Department of Management Sciences

HTTTC Kumba, University of Buea

Corresponding Author: negou.ernest@ubuea.cm

To cite: Jaff and Negou (2026, June 30), The contributions of microfinance institutions in the promotion of agribusinesses. Case of NTACCUL in Kumba Municipality. The Journal of Tertiary and Industrial Sciences (JTIS), HTTTC Kumba. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20598040

Submission Date: 20/03/2026                                                                                        Acceptance Date: 02/06/2026

Abstract

The study examined the contribution of microfinance institutions to the promotion of agribusinesses in Kumba. The study adopted a mixed research approach involving both quantitative and qualitative methods. Primary quantitative and qualitative data were collected through questionnaires and interview guide respectively. Quantitative data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), where descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages as well as regression analysis were employed. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings of the study revealed that microfinance loans have a positive and statistically significant effect on the promotion of agribusinesses in Kumba Municipality with a coefficient value of 0.650 and a significance level of 0.000, which is less than 0.05. The findings also revealed that microfinance training has a positive and statistically significant effect on agribusiness promotion with a coefficient value of 0.421 and a significance level of 0.003, which is equally less than 0.05. Furthermore, the regression model was statistically significant with an F-statistic value of 48.215 and a significance value of 0.000. The model summary revealed an R Square value of 0.709, indicating that 70.9% of the variation in agribusiness promotion was explained by microfinance loans and training, while 29.1% was explained by other factors not included in the study. The qualitative findings further identified loan default, lack of collateral, high interest rates, limited financial resources, agricultural risks and poor monitoring of borrowers as the major challenges faced by microfinance institutions in promoting agribusinesses in Kumba Municipality. The study concluded that microfinance institutions play a significant role in promoting agribusinesses in Kumba Municipality through the provision of loans and training services. However, their effectiveness is constrained by several operational and financial challenges. The study therefore recommended that microfinance institutions should strengthen monitoring and supervision mechanism to ensure that loans granted to borrowers are probably utilize for agricultural purposes in Kumba Municipality.

Keywords: Microfinance institutions, Agribusinesses, Loans, Training, Savings, Agribusiness Promotion

Mbonteh Jacob Nzang (PhD)

EHIMBS University Institute of Kumba, Cameroon

Tel: +237677785141, Email: ihsaniub@yahoo.com

To cite: Mbonteh (2026, June 10), Enterprise Education: A Strategy for the Survival of Startup SMES in the Southwest Restive Region of Cameroon. The Journal of Tertiary and Industrial Sciences, JTIS (JTIS), HTTTC Kumba. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20597917

Submission Date: 26/03/2026                                                                                     Acceptance Date: 05/06/2026

Abstract:

Most SMEs in Cameroon do not survive after the incubation phase. According to Business and Financial experts, this happens due to the absence of market research and the inability of these enterprises to create specialize market for themselves and their products. The objective of this paper is to understand how entrepreneurship education can be a mitigating factor to the survival of small and medium size enterprises within the region. The study differs from previous studies because it emphasizes on educating the entrepreneur, to build capacity to confront the challenges facing SMEs rather than simply identify them. To achieve the objective of the study, a quantitative research approach is used. This approach is characterized by semi-structured interviews and questionnaire, with registered SMEs, selected randomly within the region. The sample frame consists of 30 SMEs that have existed for 1 to 3 years but closed down temporary or permanently. The respondents were asked questions about the premature closure. The questionnaires were analyzed using content analysis. The result of the study revealed that lack of entrepreneurship education on the part of owners of start-up SMEs contributed to poor performance of managerial functions. This deficiency contributed to putting them out of business. To survive in business therefore SME operators should at least receive basic entrepreneurial skills to enable them carryout their managerial functions more appropriately and consistently too.

Keywords: Enterprise, Survival, SMEs, Entrepreneur, Education

Eyong Ako

The University of Bamenda, Northwest Region, Cameroon

School: Higher Institute of Commerce and Management,

Department: Organisational Sciences,

E-mail: akorolly87@yahoo.com

ORCID Id: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8689-6788

 Njie Immaculate Lum

mmaculatelum71@gmail.com

Department of Money and Banking

Higher Institute of Commerce and Management

The University of Bamenda

To cite: Eyong and Njie (2026, June 10). Human Capital, Technological Catch-up, and Growth Divergence in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Moderated-Mediation Analysis of Underemployment and Technology Adoption. The Journal of Tertiary and Industrial Sciences, JTIS (JTIS), HTTTC Kumba. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20597752

Submission Date: 27/02/2026                                                                                     Acceptance Date: 21/05/2026

Abstract

This study investigates the mechanisms through which human capital influences economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with particular focus on technological catch-up as a mediator and underemployment as a moderator of the human capital-growth relationship. Motivated by persistent growth divergence across SSA countries despite decades of human capital investment, the study addresses five objectives: quantifying the human capital-growth relationship, testing underemployment as a conditional constraint, evaluating technology adoption as a transmission channel, analysing sub-regional heterogeneity in catch-up dynamics, and distinguishing short-run from long-run adjustment processes. The study employs a quantitative longitudinal panel design using secondary data from World Bank WDI, Penn World Table, ILO ILOSTAT, and World Governance Indicators covering 2000-2025. The sample comprises 35 SSA countries (875 observations) distributed across four economic blocs: ECOWAS (10), EAC (7), SADC (10), and ECCAS (6). Data analysis techniques include fixed effects regression with Driscoll-Kraay standard errors, moderation analysis with interaction terms, mediation analysis following Baron and Kenny (1986), sub-regional analysis using seemingly unrelated estimation, and ARDL-Pooled Mean Group estimation to distinguish short-run from long-run dynamics. The results reveal that human capital positively affects growth, with a one-unit increase in the Human Capital Index associated with 3.18 percentage points higher annual growth, consistent with Nelson-Phelps catch-up predictions. Underemployment significantly moderates this relationship, reducing the marginal effect from 5.68 at zero underemployment to 2.32 at 40% underemployment, indicating that labour underutilization is a binding constraint on catch-up growth. Technology adoption mediates 44.8% of human capital’s effect on growth, confirming that human capital facilitates growth primarily through enhancing technological catch-up capacity. Significant growth divergence exists across sub-regions: ECOWAS shows no significant catch-up effect (coefficient 2.15, p > 0.10) while EAC (4.32, p < 0.05) and SADC (4.85, p < 0.05) exhibit strong effects, explaining persistent growth divergence within SSA. Long-run effects exceed short-run effects by a factor of 4.7, with an error correction term of -0.32 indicating rapid adjustment to long-run equilibrium catch-up trajectories. The study concludes that human capital investment alone is insufficient for catch-up growth in SSA; underemployment must be addressed as a binding constraint, technology adoption requires coordinated policy attention, and sub-regional growth divergence demands tailored rather than uniform policy approaches. Recommendations include implementing labour market information systems to reduce skill mismatches, prioritizing learning quality over access expansion, coordinating human capital investment with technology and infrastructure policies, adopting graduate tracking systems following Rwanda’s model, and targeting structural reforms in ECOWAS to improve the growth responsiveness of its large labour force to human capital accumulation.

Keywords: Human capital, economic growth, underemployment, technology adoption, Sub-Saharan Africa, panel data

Ruth Berinyuy¹

Gillian Nkeudem Asoba¹

asobis2000@yahoo.com

Fidelis Sameh Ebong¹

Aristide Guillaume Silapeux Kamda¹

Metuge Samuel¹

Irene UleNgoleSumbele ^2*

Sumbelei@yahoo.co.uk/sumbele.irene@ubuea.cm

¹Department of Social Economy and Family Management, Higher Technical Teachers’ Training College, University of Buea, Kumba, Cameroon.

²Department of Zoology and Animal Physiology, University of Buea, Buea, Cameroon.

*Corresponding author

To cite: Berinyuy et al. (2026, June 10). The Effects of Local Preservation Methods on the Nutritional Content of Yellow Corn (Zea Mays) in Bamngam Village, Bui Division, Cameroon. Special Edition. The Journal of Tertiary and Industrial Sciences (JTIS), HTTTC Kumba. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20574551

Submission Date: 13/02/2026                                                                                     Acceptance Date: 22/05/2026

Abstract

Corn is a staple food in the Bamngam village and other communities in Cameroon. It has been suggested that the type of post- harvest preservation methods of yellow corn affect its nutritional quality but no study has specifically investigated this claim in the Bamngam village. This study was carried out to identify the different local storage methods used for the preservation of yellow corn in Bamngam village in the North West Region of Cameroon and to determine the effect of each method on the nutritional quality of corn. Questionnaires were used to investigate the different storage techniques of corn used by farmers in this community. Corn samples stored under three different conditions were collected from a selected farmer and transported to the laboratory in ENSAI Ngaoundere for analysis.  Results showed that 60% of corn in the village is stored in barns, 20% by husk hung outside and 20% stored as free grains in plastic containers (hermetic storage). The dry matter content (88.4 ± 0.56) and fibre content (10.16 ± 0.96) of corn samples from hermetic storage were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than in other storage methods while the water (11.55 ± 0.56) and protein content (7.16 ± 0.24) were significantly lower in corn from hermetic storage. The ash, lipid and sugar contents of the samples were not affected by the different storage techniques. Corn from the barn had significant (p < 0.05) higher iron content (4.34± 0.21) while corn samples from hermetic storage had significant (p < 0.05) higher phosphate content (683.83 ± 93.49). In addition, the zinc (6.80 ± 1.18) and calcium (120.61 ± 28.09) contents of the corn from the husk hanging outside and the barn were significantly higher than in other storage conditions. The magnesium content of the samples was not affected by these storage methods. The results also showed that corn stored in plastic containers had healthy non-moldy seed that were least damaged by insects. On the other hand, the seeds from barn and hung outside showed a decrease in quality as compared to those in sealed plastic containers. The microbial analysis showed that total coliform bacteria were of acceptable level in all the three samples, yeast and mold were present in the three samples in the not satisfactory level. Total aerobic mesophilic flora was found at the acceptable level for corn stored in plastic container and not satisfactory level for corn stored in barn and hung outside. The nutritional content of corn in Bamngam is affected by storing methods and corn stored in sealed plastic container should be adopted as storing method of corn.

Keywords: Corn, local storage, nutritional content, storage structure, Bamngam

Elime Enongene, Hannah Kolle

Department of Guidance and Counselling, HTTTc Kumba,

University of Buea, Buea, Cameroon

To cite: Elime and Kolle (2026, June 10), Counselling Based Entrepreneurial Interventions and Sustainable Small Business Development (SMS) in Kumba Municipality, South West Region, Cameroon. The Journal of Tertiary and Industrial Sciences (JTIS), HTTTC Kumba. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20597666

Submission Date: 28/03/2026                                                                                        Acceptance Date: 02/05/2026

Abstract

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in economic growth and employment generation, particularly in developing economies. However, their sustainability remains a major challenge, necessitating innovative support mechanisms such as counselling-based entrepreneurial interventions. This study examines the impact of counselling-based entrepreneurial interventions, decision-making skills training, innovation and creativity training, and resilience building on sustainable small business development (SMEs) in Kumba Municipality, Cameroon. Anchored on the Resource-Based View, Rational Decision-Making Theory, and Resilience Theory, the study adopts a descriptive-correlational design. Data were collected from 100 SME owners using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis. Findings reveal that although a majority of respondents perceive their businesses as currently unsustainable (55%–61%), over 80% acknowledge that counselling interventions significantly enhance entrepreneurial competencies. Regression results indicate that counselling interventions explain 65.9% of the variation in SME sustainability (R² = 0.659), with resilience emerging as the strongest predictor. The study concludes that counselling interventions are critical for building internal entrepreneurial capacities necessary for sustainability, though their effects are gradual. It recommends context-specific, institutionalized counselling programs to strengthen SME development in fast-growing municipalities like Kumba.

Keywords: Counselling interventions, SME sustainability, decision-making, resilience, innovation

Published: 2026-05-30