Startups
Business
Innovation Without Direction: Why Cameroon's Tech Hubs Miss the Mark
Cameroon's innovation hubs generate abundant ideas but lack strategic coherence, often recycling global tech trends rather than solving local problems. The writer observes that while hubs celebrate startup pitches on digital health and fintech, real economic challenges—like formalizing the informal transport sector—are being solved by imported solutions, suggesting a fundamental misalignment between innovation infrastructure and national needs.
Rolling Applications and the Real Barriers to Women's Entrepreneurship
Poise examines the extended deadline for the Tony Elumelu Foundation's female entrepreneurship program as a symptom of deeper structural friction, not simply women's hesitation. The writer proposes a rolling application model as a more adaptive alternative to fixed cycles.
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.
Five Starter Business Ideas for the Digital Age in Cameroon
This piece outlines five low-barrier, phone-first business models—furniture, fashion, books, electronics, and accessories—each requiring minimal capital and leveraging social media for reach. The writer emphasizes the importance of quality, presentation, and digital marketing skills as differentiators.
The Myth of the African Startup
A critical examination of the startup narrative exported to Africa from Silicon Valley, arguing that celebrated founders were rarely poor or desperate—they had the safety net to fail. The post contends that this mythology has misdirected African ambition toward speculative ventures rather than sustainable wealth-building.
Marketing & Operations Assistant at Just Food: A Portrait of Cameroon's Food-Tech Moment
Poise shared a job posting from Just Food, a Yaounde-based food processing company seeking a marketing and operations assistant. The role encompassed customer engagement, logistics, production oversight, and administrative work across both local and international markets—a snapshot of how small Cameroonian food enterprises were beginning to professionalize and scale in the early 2020s.
Meet Ritha Nengi: Beauty Entrepreneur
A profile of Ritha Kelly Nengi, a Cameroonian beauty entrepreneur who founded Glowrays Cosmetics after recognizing an underserved market for skincare solutions tailored to Black skin. Drawing on formal training in cosmetology and skincare formulation, she developed products addressing specific concerns—like hyperpigmentation on knees, elbows, and knuckles—that dominate Black women's skincare needs.
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.
KamerLyrics: A Young Entrepreneur's Gift to Cameroonian Music
Poise celebrates KamerLyrics, a Cameroonian lyrics app created by Minette Lontsie, that solves the frustration of finding song words to beloved local tracks. The platform combines a growing database of Cameroonian music with YouTube integration and crowdsourced contributions, making it both practical and community-driven.
The Age of the Side Hustle: Nora Gweji on Building Beyond the Primary Job
A profile of Nora Gweji, who built an event decoration and planning business alongside full-time banking work, starting in 2015 with $1,000 and initial struggle before finding her first client through a Cameroonian professional network. The piece documents her journey from initial hesitation to steady profitability, reflecting Poise's wider advocacy for supplementary income and creative fulfillment beyond conventional employment.
Felix Fomengia and Light Gate Solutions: Building Value in the Digital Age
A profile of Felix Fomengia, a self-taught programmer from the University of Buea who has developed over fifteen apps addressing real problems—from coding motivation to educational resources to telecom utilities. Through his startup Light Gate Solutions, he exemplifies how Cameroonian youth can create meaningful digital products despite significant structural constraints.
Youth Entrepreneurship: Okara Brands and the Making of a Young Founder
Ayuk Nicole, through resilience forged by an unsettled childhood and a deliberate refusal to remain idle, built Okara Brands into a skincare and beauty products company. Her path—from seeking a summer job in Nigeria to becoming a brand ambassador, then launching her own line with free mentorship, and now onboarding other young women as business partners—illustrates how preparation meets opportunity.
Youth Entrepreneurship 1: Snapburger
A reflection on discovering Snapburger, a new burger joint in Yaounde opened by two university students, and what their venture represents for Cameroon's economic future. The piece weaves personal appetite for authentic American-style burgers with broader observations on the role of entrepreneurs in building a robust economy.
KamerLyrics: A Young Entrepreneur's Gift to Cameroonian Music
The writer celebrates KamerLyrics, a mobile app created by Minette Lontsie that makes Cameroonian song lyrics accessible in one place. The app integrates YouTube playback, allows user contributions, and addresses a long-standing gap in how fans engage with local music.
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.
The Entrepreneur's Birthright: Born, Not Made
A sharp critique of the startup boom of the mid-2010s, where easy capital and cultural mythology created a false sense that entrepreneurship is learnable by anyone. The writer argues that successful entrepreneurs possess an innate set of traits—salesmanship, hunger, independence, consumer intuition, and patience—that cannot be manufactured through effort alone.
Mobile Money Monopolies and E-Commerce Stagnation in Cameroon
This piece argues that while structural barriers—poor addressing, low card penetration, and skepticism of online transactions—are real obstacles to e-commerce growth in Cameroon, the deeper problem lies with MTN and Orange's control over mobile money infrastructure and their simultaneous investment in Jumia, creating a conflict of interest that stifles competing platforms and innovation.