Our Work

Programmes, campaigns and partnerships of DIRA Foundation in Cameroon.

300+people trained in digital skills and leadership
3regional public institutions working with the foundation
4startup teams mentored by the foundation

Programmes and Events

Events the foundation has run or partnered on in Bamenda.

DIRA Tech Fest 2026 post showing a participant speaking during a training session

Startup Incubator Pilot

Run as DIRA Tech Fest 2026, Bamenda, 27 to 29 March 2026

108 young people trained in digital skills and personal development.

The pilot opened with a free capacity-building workshop at LTC Hall. Participants trained in one of ten digital skills tracks, from digital marketing to cybersecurity, alongside sessions on personal development, teamwork and presenting ideas.

Trainees then formed mixed teams and turned what they had learned into ten working products. The programme closed at Cathedral Hall with a public summit on the region's digital economy, where representatives of MINRESI, MINPMEESA and NFC Bank sat on the panel. The four best teams received cash prizes and awards on stage and now receive mentoring from the foundation toward legal registration.

View the full event report

More photos in the DIRA Tech Fest 2026 gallery.

Speaker addressing participants on Day 1 of the Wisdom Series Conference 2026 in Bamenda

Wisdom Series Conference 2026

More than 200 young people trained in leadership over three days.

In August 2026, DIRA Foundation joined the Wisdom Series Conference as a collaborating partner. Over three days at Nyanga Hall, Sonac Street, participants worked through sessions on leadership, purpose and mentorship under the theme "Raising Manifesting Leaders", and left with new contacts and a certificate of participation issued by RIMHEO.

The conference was sponsored by Manifold Grace Youth Church, with CodemyandSales and RIMHEO as partners.

Advocacy and Awareness

Public campaigns on women's safety and health, online and on the streets of Bamenda.

Women marching through Bamenda with placards calling for an end to gender-based violence

Join the Fight Against GBV

Gender-based violence is still too often treated as a family matter to be kept quiet. Through its online campaign, "Enough is enough. Cameroon, say no to GBV.", DIRA Foundation reminds its audiences that every woman and girl deserves to live without fear of violence, and asks them to break the silence, protect survivors and challenge perpetrators.

The foundation also took the message to the streets, marching through Bamenda alongside women's groups from across the North West in honour of the women who have lost their lives to gender-based violence.

Participants in pink at the Pink October solidarity walk in Bamenda

Pink October: Breast Cancer Awareness

During Pink October, DIRA Foundation and its partner ASWEDO went out into the streets of Bamenda to advocate for breast cancer awareness. Dressed in pink and carrying placards, the team walked with women from across the city and spoke with them about early screening.

The message was simple: get screened early, because breast cancer found early is easier to treat.

Ongoing Programme

DIRA Foundation team members with officials outside the MINRESI building in Bamenda

JERSI-NW 9th Edition, with CRRI

JERSI-NW is the North West Open Day of Excellence for Scientific Research and Innovation, organised by the Regional Centre for Research and Innovation (CRRI). The 9th edition runs from 10 to 12 November 2026 at CRRI-NW, Up Station, Bamenda.

DIRA Foundation is collaborating with the CRRI North West Regional Delegation on the organisation of this edition, at no cost to the Delegation. The foundation leads mobilisation and publicity: it reaches young people through youth organisations and school and university networks, designs and distributes promotional materials credited to both CRRI and DIRA Foundation, and coordinates publicity on the ground in the two weeks before the event.

Ahead of the event, CRTV North West invited DIRA Foundation and the MINRESI North West Regional Delegation to a radio talk show to present JERSI-NW to listeners across the region.

The Delegation's representative also sat on the DIRA Tech Fest 2026 panel.

Planned Programme

A DIRA Foundation team member in a meeting with an official at her desk

DIRA Startup Incubator Program (DSIP)

DSIP is a programme owned by DIRA Foundation to help small businesses and cooperatives in Cameroon register, keep proper records and grow, while training people in business, finance, marketing and technology. Priority will go to women-led and youth-led enterprises.

Many enterprises in the region operate without registration or written records, which keeps them from banks, public buyers and investors. The programme responds in three stages:

  1. Identification. A readiness survey of 30 to 50 enterprises, cooperative credit unions and social-economy organisations across the seven Divisions. It is financed by DIRA SAS and carried out under a Memorandum of Understanding with the MINPMEESA Regional Delegation.
  2. Formalisation and training. Selected enterprises complete registration and record-keeping with a mentor and receive coaching through the Agency for the Promotion of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (APME). Five hundred trainees follow a common core and four expert-led tracks: business development, finance and banking, sales and brand, and technology and AI. Partner ministries brief participants on opportunities and compliance. This stage is planned for 20 July to 19 August 2027.
  3. Closing Tech Summit. Two days at Bamenda Congress Hall, on 20 and 21 August 2027, with an exhibition, a pitch competition, panels, a government address and recognition of the formalised enterprises and graduates.

What the programme aims to achieve

  • At least 30 enterprises registered and equipped with records, each with a written starting assessment and a mentor.
  • 500 people trained, with women making up at least 40 percent of participants.
  • A regional readiness index delivered to the MINPMEESA Regional Delegation at no cost to government.

The 2027 edition is budgeted at 100,000,000 XAF, including a 10,000,000 XAF prize pool. The foundation holds all funds in its own account, two officers authorise large payments, an independent chartered accountant reviews the accounts, and partners receive quarterly reports.

View the full programme

Institutional Engagement

DIRA Foundation and MINRESI North West Regional Delegation team at CRTV North West for a radio talk show ahead of JERSI-NW

CRRI collaboration for JERSI-NW

The foundation's work with the CRRI North West Regional Delegation began at DIRA Tech Fest 2026, where the Delegation took part in the summit panel. It has since become a collaboration on the organisation of JERSI-NW 2026, with the foundation leading mobilisation and publicity, including a joint appearance on CRTV North West radio.

DIRA Foundation team members with officials of the North West Regional Assembly in an Assembly office

North West Regional Assembly

The North West Regional Assembly has endorsed the DIRA Startup Incubator Program, following talks on the region's digital economy and the formalisation of small and medium-sized enterprises.

See institutions and partners

Work With Us

Institutions, organisations and individuals are welcome to propose events, training or research that fit the foundation's objectives.

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