Cameroon: Women Entrepreneurs On The Rise – Top Five To Watch In 2019.

Despite the economic downturn, Cameroonians are committed and relentless in contributing to the country’s economic development.

From being involved in social causes to producing and manufacturing products of high value,from investing into local start up companies to using the media to project inspirational stories by Cameroonians around the world, the Cameroonian people have resolved not to give up despite the season of hardship.

Majority of the people wanting to create change in the country through Entrepreneurship are men but, women are not left out.
Some few women who have proven to be proactive, bold and fearless, are changing the narrative and setting a pace for other women to follow.
Be it in Technology, manufacturing, Science and Engineering, Communications or the Arts, Women are working hard not only to have a seat on the table, but are striving to leave an indelible mark as well. We went out to discover these few. In 2019 we want to see these women excel in their crafts and produce tangible results.

Ruth Tembe (@RuthTembeBiz)

The founder and CEO of the African Vision Communications – AVICOMM Group likes to describe herself as a Business Woman living a Purpose-Driven life.
At AVICOMM Group (a media and marketing communications firm that publishes Cameroon Achievers Magazine (www.cameroonachievers.cm) and (QUEENS Magazine), she is the lead Business Development and Brand Manager working with companies to grow their businesses and make more sales.
Ruth Tembe is also the author of > a motivational handbook that teaches people to succeed in business, career and life. She is also a business coach who dishes out valuable content on a regular basis on her social media pages. Ruth Tembe is a champion for empowering enterprising women in Africa, famous for supporting and honouring them through awards and curating events that showcases them and makes them stand out.
In 2019, she has revealed that there is plenty in store for her company as she is pursuing the purpose for which the company was created which is to make leaders of all those that come her way, a purpose she is pursuing through AVICOMM Group.
To know more about her, visit www.ruthtembe.com

Fien Rosette

The lack of healthy and nutritive foods for her baby made Fien Rosette to seek for and provide solutions for all other babies suffering from the same situation. “When I became a young mother, the challenges of keeping my children healthy through healthy nutrition became a personal issue. Many food brands existed in the market but I found that none of these imported generic brands provided a comprehensive solution to the problems faced by millions of mothers in my country and other developing communities. They are often unavailable where they are needed, the prices are usually not affordable by the low income households, and their formulation (milk, supplements, etc.) usually makes them appear more as luxuries than necessities.”
It is against this backdrop that Fien Rosette founded Kayvey Nutri Foods company, a food brand that is formulated using ingredients which are locally available in abundance. “Kayvey Mixed Cereal”, her company’s first product is a unique composition of 6 different seeds, nuts, pulses and grains, it is rich in iron, with high level of omega 3 and has a balance of vitamins, nutrients and minerals.
It can be consumed by anyone from six months. It is purely organic with no preservatives.
Apart from manufacturing food, Fien Rosette runs an N.G.O – Dovic Relief Cameroon which she founded in 2010, a non-profit organization dedicated to women economic empowerment.
Through this organization she has worked with 23 rural communities and positively affected the lives of over 3000 women. 

Melissa Bime

In 2015 at just 18 years of age, Melissa Bime founded >, a digital supply chain platform company whih gives hospitals access to ready-to-use blood.

INFIUSS operates as a “Blood Bank” where there is the collecting and categorising of blood supplies, but also as a database of all the blood types available at various hospitals. In an emergency, a hospital will call or send a text message to Infiuss, which will efficiently check where the required blood is available via the digitalised platform, organise the collection of blood supplies and coordinate delivery by motorcycle.
Thus far, Infiuss has transported over 230 litres of blood via 6 hospitals. This number is expected to rise substantially as the partnership expands to 908 hospitals across Cameroon in the near future.
She put her medical knowledge to one side and took it upon herself to find a solution to the inaccessibility of local blood supplies, experienced by hospitals and doctors in Yaoundé.
With Infiuss, Melissa has won so many prestigious awards including the Anzisha Prize>> and the Cartier Women Initiative Award>>.
We are looking forward to see her shine more in 2019.

Horore Bell BEBGA

Horore BELL BEBGA is a Cameroonian IT professional with a master’s degree
in IT project management and Technology entrepreneur with more than 5
years in digital business and startups ecosystem in Cameroon.
She is the founder of LIKALO GROUP a company that has a digital agency
called LIKALO 2.0 (www.likalo2.com) and Likalo learning center that offers
STEM programs (science -technology-Engineering-Mathematics) in schools.
She was awarded as 2018 country winner for CEO GLOBAL’s Most influential
women in Business and Government in ICT sector for Central Africa.
She’s laureate of THE TONY ELUMELU FOUNDATION’s award for 2018.
She’s also an alumna for the Techwomen 2018 program, an initiative of U.S
Department of State’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Exchange for
emerging women leaders in Technology.
She has recently featured on a powerful list of the Africa Women Power
Network – AWP which has released its list of 40 women who made a
difference and inspired communities in 2018.
Horore is an advocate of women and girls empowerment in Technology
through many initiatives where she participate and one of them is African
Women In Tech Startups (http://africanwits.org/) created in 2016, a non profit organization which empower women in technology
entrepreneurship and digital skills for unemployed.
Since 2016, she is involved
on Africanwits organization which is due to organize from March 5th to 08th in
Douala in Cameroon, the very first digital women’s festival, during which 250 women and young people will be introduced to digital through training
workshops.

Marilyn, NGUEMO CHIME

Marilyn cummulates 14 years of experience as a Senior Adviser with multinational companies, local corporates and development organizations across Africa, Europe and the US. With a former colleague, Marilyn launched ZAATI Consulting which provides expert advice to global corporations, development organizations and regional institutions in Africa, US and Europe.

Recent assignments include being a senior expert on organizational design with the Lake Chad Basin Commission, which plays a major role in coordinating the joint military forces against the terrorist group Boko Haram; and holding a senior advisory position in the famous “International Women’s Day Scholarships Initiative” by the Kadji Foundation and Union Camerounaise de Brasseries.
With a firm belief that “Another Africa is possible”, ZAATI Consulting launched the first ever gathering of SMEs across Africa, the “Africa SME Meeting” which positions the SME at the heart of our prosperity.

In 2019, the firm has recently launched the second edition of the “Africa SME Meeting” under the theme “The SME: Transforming lives, transforming communities”.

This exceptional event by and for entrepreneurs to take place in April, will feature: Daniel Kalbassou, Founder of Credit du Sahel, George Bakka, CEO of Patasente in Uganda and Kenya, Claudel Noubissi, Founder of Start-Up Academy and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
Access to alternative financing tools, building a robust sales network, exporting to Nigeria and leadership for business growth will be the major themes discussed.
Besides this, concerned with market access for small producers and artisans, ZAATI partnered with Betuulabs to develop an e-marketplace called SimbaMarketPlace. And 2019, will witness the launching of “ ZAATI SME Academy”, the one and only place where entrepreneurs learn the leadership to grow, expand and impact their communities.
Marilyn also spends countless hours inspiring and empowering organizations and individuals, especially entrepreneurs as she believes, they are the ones Africa is waiting for to turn its greatest challenges into unprecendented oppotunies. She was awarded the “Ten Most Outstanding Young Entrepreneurs” (TOYP) in Cameroon by the Junior Chamber International and was enrolled in President Obama’s signature program, the Mandela Washington Fellowship. In addition to her extensive professional experience, Marilyn is a member of the DELL Women’s Entrepreneurs Network (DWEN).

Several other women in Cameroon, are now making a difference in varied spheres of life. We celebrate them too alongside these women of substance on the occasion of this 2019 edition of the International Women’s Day.

Published By: Mimi Mefo Info