This marks a new step in the implementation of economic equality and inclusion policies in Africa. On August 5, 2025, at OAPI headquarters in Yaoundé, the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Cameroon officially launched the Women's Economic Empowerment through Innovation and Access to Intellectual Property Project. This ambitious pilot project, stemming from a Memorandum of Understanding signed on February 14, 2025, will be implemented in Cameroon and Burkina Faso.
This strategic project aims to promote local expertise held by women, particularly in the agribusiness sector, by enabling them to protect their innovations, access financing, and achieve sustainable integration into the formal economy through the use of intellectual property.
Making innovation a lever for women's empowerment
According to OAPI Director General Denis Bohoussou, “ this project is aimed at rural women, female engineering students, and women involved in the agri-food sector, in order to strengthen their capacities in terms of innovation, legal protection, and the economic development of their expertise. In fact, it is not enough to innovate; it is also necessary to protect that innovation. And it is not enough to be an active participant on the ground; one must be able to become an agent of change. And that is what we are doing through this project .”
In the same vein, the UNFPA Resident Representative in Cameroon, Justin Koffi, stressed the concrete opportunity that this project represents to link women's talents and projects with appropriate financing: " Very often, what has hampered entrepreneurship in Africa is the fact that the projects are here in Africa, and the financing elsewhere. Now, the two can be linked on site ," explains Mr. Koffi.
Also, the Cameroonian Minister for the Promotion of Women and the Family, Marie-Thérèse Abena Ondoa, who presided over the ceremony, hailed " a significant step towards the emancipation of young girls ," emphasizing that financial independence remains an essential key to their future: " Too often, the future of our young girls is compromised by dependence on their spouses. Thanks to this initiative, they will be able to become self-reliant, start businesses, and build their own security ."
An integrated approach to unlocking women's potential
In concrete terms, the project will span 18 months, with an overall budget estimated at 1.5 billion FCFA. It will target: female engineering students, rural women, female entrepreneurs in the agribusiness sector and those involved in the informal economy, particularly resellers.
This approach is designed to be integrated and inclusive. It aims to strengthen management capacities, support patent applications, access legal protection tools, and implement high value-added projects.
Ultimately, the project aims to correct current imbalances: in Cameroon, 62% of the agricultural workforce is female, but women hold only 15% of patents registered with OAPI. This paradox is what the program seeks to reverse sustainably, and the results obtained will serve as a model for other countries within the OAPI region.
