Ambassador Gang made the call when he recognized and honored two young Liberian entrepreneurs, Princess Kofa and Emmanuel Waydon on May 23, 2012 at the Golden Gate Hotel in Monrovia where they celebrated the 42nd independence anniversary of Cameroon.
In his statement while introducing the two aspiring business entrepreneurs to Vice President Joseph Boakai, foreign diplomats, government officials and other invited guests at the occasion, Ambassador Augustine Gang said he was highly impressed by the report published about the two entrepreneurs in the Daily Observer, and he and his wife decided to make them a point of inspiration for others who may want to rely on government for everything.
“We are seeking Africans who see the domain of enterprise in this contemporary world as a competition and are willing to go for it, and not people who want government to do everything for them. As educational and development diplomats, we wish to support and promote such activity in a friendly country like Liberia,” Ambassador Gang asserted.
He said such a venture by young Liberians needs to be encouraged that the entrepreneurs will move ahead in order to inspire others to do same.
“We knew these people from nowhere except by reading about them in the Daily Observer. We were inspired by report concerning a young lady engaging in business of waste management while another gentleman is in another kind of business. We see them as people to inspire others because one doesn’t see many others doing such things. It is our hope that you diplomats and officials will give them your support as they strive to create job opportunities for others,” he noted.
Considering his country Cameroon in terms of entrepreneurship, Ambassador Gang told reporters that the government has made effort to get Cameroonians engage in entrepreneurship, but it has not yielded the expected fruit.
However, he said “a lot of people in Cameroon are involved in Agriculture, house construction business, and other small businesses that help to sustain them.
At the end of the recognition program, the Ambassador sent a bag around to collect donations to help the entrepreneurs. A total of US$321.00 with about LD$1,300 collected.
The two Liberian entrepreneurs commended the Cameroonian Ambassador and his staff for the recognition program, and assured that they would serve as ambassadors to propagating the message of engagement in entrepreneurship.
The amounts were presented to the two young entrepreneurs and they were cautioned to see it as motivation that will drive them in insisting on improving their businesses as they have begun.
It can be recalled that on May 8, 2012 the Business Start-up Center created to train entrepreneurs in Business planning was launched in Monrovia and the two entrepreneurs, Princess and Emmanuel, along with others, were awarded US$10,000 loan each from SPARK.
Both Princess and Emmanuel in separate interviews with this paper, indicated that they were breaking the attitude of relying on government for employment, instead, of undertaking a business venture that will enable them become employers instead of being employees.
They also pledged their commitment to pay back the loan as scheduled in order to build confidence in SPARK so that other interested people coming after them will see as example to follow and to have easy way of getting loan from the institution.
Vice President Joseph Boakai who spoke earlier, emphasized the need for a cordial relationship between Cameroon and Liberia, recalling the assistance Cameroonians gave Liberians while in their country for refuge.
