By Boris Esono Nwenfor
BUEA, August 26, 2023 – Tatung Merveille Nyong, a student of Progressive Comprehensive High School, Bamenda, NWR, has been crowned champion of the National Economic Olympiad, a competition organized by the Nkafu Policy Institute, a think tank of the Denis and Lenora Foretia Foundation on August 25 in Yaounde.
Merveille Nyong came out victorious with a score of 76/100 following the final of the National Economic Olympiads Competition 2023, delivering an outstanding and brilliant presentation on how the crisis in the North West and South West Region has affected food prices in Cameroon.
Alongside Nanfah Yimdji Alex, who came in second position, Tatung Merveille will represent Cameroon at the International Economic Olympiad in Greece next year. The National Economic Olympiad competition gathered some 16 secondary schools and 219 delegates from 9 regions during its official launch in February 2023.
“The event has been a success. We started with the ten regions and ended with the 9 candidates for this National Economic Olympiad. If countries are turning to the business economy is because they want to grow and if a country wants to grow, the private sector is fundamental,” Bin Joachim Meh, Researcher and SBEC Associate told the press.
“About 36 per cent of the GDP of Cameroon is provided by the private sector, that is the spirit of entrepreneurship. This entrepreneurship has to be started from the base (youths) and that is the reason for the National Economic Olympiad.”
The competition kicked off in January 2023 and was organized in four phases. The first phase took place in February 2023, during which school heads were invited to recommend candidates who sat and represented their institution at the competition. The fourth stage which was in July saw candidates evaluated on an “Elevator Pitch.” The candidate had a presentation on how economic freedom can lead to the development of their region or country.
Bin Joachim added: “They (two winners) have to carry the flag of Cameroon. It is no longer an individual or school issue but a national international, going to represent the country in the international competition. The candidates need to prepare; we will indeed work with them to have international standards but they need to put in the work to go there and bring back the trophy.”
The journey to success for the students has been one of many obstacles and challenges. But their sheer grit and determination was the overwhelming factor in their achieving victory. With the National Olympiad concluded, work now shifts to the International Economic Olympiad which comes up in Greece next year.
“For me to reach this stage was not an easy start. I never knew I was going to select the topic I had which talked about the North West region and food crisis. I feel honoured and happy,” said Tatung Mervielle, Progressive Comprehensive High School, Bamenda, North West Region, winner of the National Economic Olympiads.
“I competed at the level of my school and was selected amongst the first three to compete at the regional level. At the regional level, I was the best candidate and was selected to compete at the National level. It was not easy but I had support from my teachers, parents and the Nkafu Policy Institute who kept giving me updates on how the program will look like.”
On participating in the International Economic Olympiad in Greece, Tatung Mervielle said: “I know it is not going to be easy but with the support from the Nkafu Policy Institute and everyone, I will do my best.”
Second-placed Nanfah Yimdji Alex, a student of Collége du Vaal Douala who delivered a presentation on “The Functions of the Government in the Mixed Economic System like Cameroon said: “This journey was very interesting and I am grateful for the opportunity that I was given; not everyone has a chance to participate in a competition like this. There was a lot of hard work that was put into reaching this stage. Special thanks to the Nkafu Policy Institute for their guidance and also to my school who proposed me for the competition.”
The 2023/24 academic year edition will be launched in October 2023 and registrations are open to secondary schools offering economics as a course. Interested schools are expected to forward a list of their 10 delegates on or before December 15, 2023, with school delegates expected to be aged between 14 to 20 years. They are also required to have scored at least 14/20 on any of the assessments.
