A delegation from Cameroon arrived in Philadelphia Sunday, July 13. The delegation came from halfway around the world to participate in an executive education study tour sponsored by Saint Joseph’s University (SJU). The students will earn an advanced education certificate and have the option to further their education at SJU by earning a master’s of business administration for their participation.
The 24-person cohort, which includes aspiring lawyers, government officials, health administrators and economists attending Cameroon’s National School of Administration and Magistracy, has three objectives for their visit to Philadelphia.
First, the cohort is focused on observing area ports with an eye on expanding international trade at home. Situated along the west coast of Africa, Cameroon’s port city, Kribi, offers the country potential for significant economic growth. A multi-billion effort, the Kribi Deep Seaport Project, will sustain Cameroon in development of this area. The project will improve access to schools, health centers and markets and will also offer new import-export opportunities to local economies.
For the Cameroon cohort, improving health outcomes at home is also paramount. Currently, the average life expectancy of the country’s citizens is 55 years old. Because the Greater Philadelphia region is home to some of the best medical facilities in the nation, the group will tour and discuss best practices with doctors and administrators at hospitals and pharmaceutical companies including ARIA Health, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and CVS Minute Clinic.
The third focus of the group’s study tour in Philadelphia is to address the agricultural and food value chain. Visits with the Pa. Department of Agriculture and facility tours of Hershey Foods, Knouse Foods in Gardners, Pa., and Procacci Brothers will offer varied opportunities to observe post-harvest storage and processing of goods. With the expansion of roads and railways in Cameroon, a sophisticated agricultural value chain would create long-term business value.
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, along with other elected officials, joined the Cameroon cohort for a dinner hosted in their honor on Monday, July 14, at the Saint Joseph’s Robert M. Gillin, Jr. Boathouse. The group will also be joined with the Haub School of Business delegation that visited ENAM in April of this year to discuss a partnership between the two institutions.