Corporate Strategy
Business
The Cameroon Brand Pantheon: A 2023 Snapshot and Call for Update
Poise's curated ranking of Cameroon's twenty most culturally resonant brands—from Total and MTN to Hysacam and Afriland—captures how brands function as social mirrors, embodying national character, aspiration, frustration, and resilience. The piece invites readers to nominate contenders for a 2025 refresh, treating brand ecology as a living archive of collective values.
Have Our Billionaires Betrayed Us? Seven Years Later
Reflecting on a 2018 question about billionaire silence in Cameroon, Poise examines whether wealthy elites have a duty to share the knowledge behind their fortunes. The piece contrasts the opacity of Cameroonian business magnates with figures like Aliko Dangote, who use their power publicly, and argues that what matters is not wealth itself but the visibility and teachability of how it was built.
The Structure and Logic of Record Labels in Cameroon
The writer examines the distinction between major and independent record labels, explaining how multinational majors like UMG, Sony, and Warner differ fundamentally from the independent labels that dominate Cameroon's music industry. Through this framework, the piece diagnoses endemic tensions between Cameroonian labels and artists—poor contract literacy, inadequate planning, and opaque financial management.
The Geography of Ambition: Why Artists Should Build at Home
The writer examines how the calculus of artistic migration has inverted in Cameroon over the past generation. Where legendary musicians once traveled abroad to access superior infrastructure and networks, contemporary artists who leave typically abandon creative ambitions altogether—and those who return struggle to rebuild momentum or credibility.
The Artist as Creative Agency: Diversification and Survival in Cameroon's Music Economy
The writer argues that musicians in Cameroon face systemic economic precarity that demands a fundamental shift in how they approach their careers. Rather than relying solely on performance, artists must develop multiple income streams—production, songwriting, event management, or entirely separate ventures—to achieve financial stability and longevity.
The Entrepreneurial Arc: From Idealism to Pragmatism in Cameroon's Tech Ecosystem
A Cameroon-based writer reflects on a decade of entrepreneurial ambition and experimentation—from 2014's optimistic startup culture through successive waves of technology, agriculture, beauty, and fintech ventures—tracing how a genuine passion for building meaningful products gradually gave way to chasing prizes, PR, and survival.
The Twenty Brands That Shape Cameroon: A Social Reading
This essay catalogues twenty major Cameroonian brands—from Total and MTN to Guinness, Hysacam, and Afriland—as mirrors of national character, economic anxiety, and resilience. Each brand carries not just commercial weight but cultural meaning: the way Cameroonians relate to authority, aspiration, everyday hardship, and quiet entrepreneurial pride.
The Service Chain: How Living Standards Shape Excellence in African Markets
The writer argues that poor service quality across African B2C sectors reflects the poor living conditions of service workers and support staff. Breaking this cycle requires deliberately investing in the material welfare of those at the bottom of the chain—housing, transport, utilities—as a prerequisite for excellence.
On the Function of Record Labels in Cameroon
The writer examines the distinction between major and independent record labels, explaining their different structures, resources, and relationships with artists. Drawing on examples from the Cameroonian music industry, the piece argues that most local labels are independent, yet operate under misunderstandings about contracts, artist development, and financial accountability.
The Cost of Winning: A Lesson in Business Ethics
The writer recalls a team-building exercise at a BMW Foundation conference where her team strategically broke rules to win faster, only to discover afterward that the exercise was a deliberate test of ethical behavior. An executive's explanation revealed that true ethics means following rules regardless of whether one can afford the consequences—a distinction that reshaped her understanding of integrity in business and life.
The Business of Music: Why Cameroonian Artists Confuse Calling with Career
The writer argues that Cameroonian musicians often sabotage their financial success by treating music as a spiritual calling rather than a business discipline. Drawing on Mr Eazi's entrepreneurial trajectory, the piece contends that sustainable careers require clear business thinking, measurable outcomes, and the willingness to walk away if profitability doesn't arrive within a realistic timeframe.
Tell Our Own Stories: A Business Model for African Children's Content
The writer proposes a practical business model for producing and distributing cartoons based on African oral traditions—specifically fables like the tale of the tortoise. Drawing on personal memory and cultural observation, the piece outlines a complete go-to-market strategy: production (partnering artists with educators and anthropologists), distribution (USB sticks and digital downloads), pricing, promotion (nursery schools and churches), and potential merchandise.
The Cameroonian Reticence: Corporate Culture, Information Opacity, and the Cost of Secrecy
The writer examines two interconnected cultural phenomena in Cameroon: weak corporate cultures that fail to invest employees in their companies' success, and a broader cultural tendency to withhold good news and business information. Using the example of a chef's deal with a multinational corporation, the piece argues that both corporate leaders and individuals perpetuate economic stagnation by refusing to share knowledge, celebrate achievement, or build transparent systems.
The Show by Orange: Marketing Ambition and the Concert Experience Gap in Cameroon
Orange Cameroon's event-based marketing push, exemplified by "The Show," marks a strategic shift in how the telecom competes with MTN. Yet the piece uses the concert itself as a lens to examine a broader problem: Cameroon's event infrastructure remains hampered by poor technical execution, inadequate professionals, and decision-makers who prioritize politics over craft.
Bush Faller Record Deals in Cameroon: Part Two
The writer examines misguided record label partnerships in Cameroon, focusing on artists like Pascal and Mic Monsta who accepted deals emphasizing lifestyle expenses over artistic development. The piece argues that young Cameroonian artists need to pursue artist development deals—agreements focused on producing quality work to attract major labels—rather than contracts that promise furnished apartments and allowances.
A Lesson on Buyer's Remorse: Young Entrepreneurs and the Cost of Short-Term Thinking
A Cameroonian returnee entrepreneur reflects on the structural prejudice young business owners face—particularly in B2B sales—and traces it to a deeper cultural pattern: the prioritization of quick extraction over customer retention. He argues that sustainable business requires a commitment to service that outlasts the initial transaction.