BICEC, one of Cameroon’s most outstanding banking institutions known fully in French as Banque Internationale du Cameroun pour L’Epargne et le Credit, has just rewarded the best students and pupils, drawn from some schools in the Southwest Region, in a poetry and drawing competition.
The 20 laureates of the BICEC poetry and drawing competition were recognised for their brilliant show of talent in poetry and drawing on Saturday, December 12 and Sunday, December 13, 2015 at the ALCEF Amusement Park in Limbe.

The Limbe occasion was the Second Edition of BICEC’s Youth Days activities, an initiative which BICEC launched last year in Douala. Thus, the December 12 - 13 outing was just the finale of the second edition of the BICEC Youth Days through which the bank has decided to dedicate some of its resources to encourage the development of Cameroonian youths.

“BICEC took this initiative because we know that it is important for us to be closer to our customers, and we know that our pupils and students are our future customers,” said Mr. Stephane Huret, BICEC’s Central Director of Networks.

Mr. Huret said the BICEC poetry and drawing competition targeted schools in Buea, Limbe and Tiko. The competition was set on the theme, “The Role of the Bank in the Society.”
According to Mr. Huret, they received a total of 50 drawings and 200 poems from 16 primary schools and 14 secondary schools in Buea, Limbe and Tiko.

SONARA College Excels!
In the poetry competition, 10-year-old Emmanuel Claris Koumtou Dikongue, a Class Six pupil of the SONARA Primary School, emerged winner. She was awarded a brand new Samsung tablet, while her two runners-up, Eugene Nkono, still from the SONARA Primary and Edelquine Efeti from Kingston Memorial Primary, Buea, each received a purchase order for school supplies of FCFA 100,000.

In the drawing competition, the pupils of SONARA Primary School still led with Arthur Mbohou Chichom emerging the best out of ten best drawings. Chichom was also awarded a Samsung tablet and his two runners-up also each received a purchase order for school supplies of FCFA 100,000.
The other pupils who came in the fourth to the tenth positions in both the poetry and drawing contests were also recognised with handsome prizes.

Buea Schools Top Winnings

Sunday, December 13, 2015, put even more smiles on the faces of the students as BICEC continued splashing prizes to winners of the poetry, drawing and other competitions that took place during the occasion.
Fifteen-year-old Agnes Nkeng Sama, a Form Four student from the Baptist High School, Buea, won the poetry contest for secondary schools.
“What I wrote in my poem is that the banks help us to secure our money and bail us out when we are broke. So, the banks, like BICEC, play an important role in society,” Nkeng said.

She was rewarded as the best student poet of the year with a tablet machine.
“A bank is where we keep our money. It reduces my load because in times of frustration, I can always take a loan. Without banks, where will we be? In my opinion, BICEC is simply the best!” is an excerpt from Nkeng’s poem.
Meanwhile, 18-year-old Ojong Arrey, an Upper Sixth Science student of PCSS Buea, won the drawing contest.

“I want to say a big thanks to BICEC because they have really helped me to expose a talent in me,” Arrey said. He too, received a tablet machine. The second and third best students in both the drawing and poetry competitions each also received a purchase order for school supplies of FCFA 100,000. The fourth to the tenth winners were also recognised with worthwhile prizes.
Mr. Huret said he was very impressed with the quality of talents exhibited by the pupils and students through their poems and drawings.

BICEC Junior, BICEC MOOV Launched
In its drive to help parents ensure a stress-free financial future for their children and also guarantee their education right into the future, BICEC launched two new savings accounts products. In this light, BICEC Junior is a new savings opportunity whereby parents can save money for their children’s future, at least FCFA 10,000, each month.

With BICEC Junior, parents who are paid through BICEC or who bank with BICEC can use the opportunity to open this BICEC Junior account. BICEC Junior has two options where a parent can chip in a minimum monthly amount of FCFA 10,000 to his child’s account or FCFA 20,000 as the savings plus insurance option of the BICEC Junior Plan.

For the secondary schools, BICEC Moov has been created to enable students between the ages of 18 to 27 become more financially secured. With this package, beneficiary student(s) won’t have to run to their parents for money. With this account, they can make withdrawals whenever the need arises to solve a pressing school need or help themselves without necessarily going to their parents.

“It is a very important option. It can help the child in his or her university education or help the child in case the parent becomes financially handicapped,” BICEC officials explained.
The minimum amount to start the BICEC Moov account is FCFA 20,000, and students are entitled to a 50 percent reduction in all transactional charges with this account.

The BICEC Youth Days event was interspersed with a series of other entertaining and educational competitions where winners were also awarded huge prizes. For instance, Government School Down Beach distinguished itself in the dancing and quiz competition while students from the Bilingual Grammar School Molyko, BGS, were also outstanding in the BICEC Quiz.
Max Lyonga, a renowned Southwest-based painter, who was one of the jury members, thanked BICEC for such an initiative to encourage young kids in the arts field.

“Parents, you should encourage your child in the field of arts, because, when we were young, we had no one to do what BICEC is doing today,” Lyonga said.

The Head Teacher of SONARA Primary School, Gustave Mbella, and his colleague, Nadine Zambo, lauded BICEC’s drive at encouraging youth talents.