What works in Douala

Douala hosts two significant youth skills and technology initiatives: the Orange Digital Center trained over 2,500 young people in coding, hardware and entrepreneurship in its first two years, facilitating 560+ placements in employment or internships, while Striving For All's Thrive Center trained nearly 400 children and teenagers since 2023, with 91 students earning AI and professional-skills certificates in the 2024–25 cohort alone. Beyond skills training, CAMERR has restored over 100 hectares of mangrove in the Wouri Estuary since 2022, with a pilot site showing 70% sapling survival and employing 12 local residents, though this restoration rate remains far behind Cameroon's estimated 3,000 hectares annual mangrove loss. The evidence shows Douala as a hub for youth digital inclusion and environmental restoration efforts, though the practices do not quantify broader development outcomes, employment durability, or environmental impact at scale.