Rebecca Enonchong has said she is not afraid of going to Cameroon. Speaking on Saturday, August 17, 2019, during an interview with Delly TV, Ms. Enonchong explained that she was worried about going to Cameroon as a result of the hostile political climate. But she reiterated she is not scared. She expatiated by stating that more Cameroonians are living in different forms of imprisonment, worse than the case of those currently being held in physical prisons.
These statements came against the backdrop of questions on whether she was not afraid of the ‘wrath’ of the Cameroon government.
Ms. Enonchong had been actively engaged in the calls for a restoration of the internet that was cut in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon. The internet was shut down for several months during the early parts of 2017. She has recently been calling for the release of political prisoners. Some of them are Professor Maurice Kamto, Barrister Michelle Ndoki, and many of the journalists who are currently being unjustly held in Cameron jails.
There is Power in Speaking Out
To Ms. Enonchong, therefore, it is much more liberating to speak out than to die in silence. Furthermore, it is disheartening to find that people appear to normalise the case of arbitrary arrests and imprisonment. The renowned technology entrepreneur said what Cameroon needs at this point is change. “Let there be change of the entire system. Paul Biya is our “father”, but he is old and needs to rest. Let the young generation take over and make its own mistakes,” Rebecca said.
In the interview hosted by Pamela Bonkiyung, Ms. Rebecca took the audience through a wide range of topics. She clarified issues such as her view that ‘Jumia is not African’, the legal and regulatory framework governing the tech ecosystem, to the recent outing she had on Twitter about a case of 700 euros.
Most interesting, however, was her exposé on many issues relating to entrepreneurship and start-ups. Declaring that she was currently mentoring a number of technology entrepreneurial aspirants, she indicated that funding and grants were available for start-ups, through her organisations, African Business Angels Network and ActivSpaces, which supports tech entrepreneurs from two hubs in Cameroon.
She however shocked the audience when she stated clearly that the funding available was to support nascent innovations which were actual products and not merely ideas. It was glee for many though, when she also indicated that the funds came without any collateral, despite the high risks to the investors.
Queen of African Tech
Enonchong, who is called the queen of tech in Africa, also responded to questions about the current financial liquidity problems both in Cameroon and across the African continent. She was optimistic, however, that there are solutions to these problems and that these solutions are more likely to come from Africans themselves. She was however bitter when she discussed her experience with MTN which let her make the statement that “‘to be an entrepreneur you have to be crazy. To be an entrepreneur in Africa, you have to be raving mad.”
The case with MTN Cameroon revolves around issues of the mobile telecommunications giant refusing to pay Ms. Enonchong’s company – AppsTech invoices amounting to over $3.2 Million.
Enonchong concluded her interview on a very positive note, thanking Delly TV for the opportunity to reach out to Facebook users, given that she has been more active on Twitter and Instagram.
Delly TV hosts weekly programmes where influential Africans, especially Cameroonians, are interviewed on a wide range of issues. Previous guests have ranged from politicians such as Kah Walla, Barrister Agbor Nkongho, Journalist Prince Nfor Hanson, Ambazonian leaders such as Ayaba Cho Lucas and musical artists such as Blanche Bailley and Mr. Leo.
Who is Rebecca Enonchong?
Born in 1967, Rebecca Enonchong is a Cameroonian-born technology entrepreneur and founder and CEO of AppsTech. She is best known for her work promoting technology in Africa. Her father was Dr. Henry Ndifor Abi Enonchong, a renowned barrister in Cameroon. While Rebecca was growing up in Cameroon, her father helped create the Federal Cameroon Bar Association and its successor, the Cameroon Bar Association.
In her teens, Enonchong moved to the United States with her family. While studying, she took up a job selling door-to-door newspaper subscriptions from the age of 15. She later became a manager at the same company at the age of 17. Rebecca has received various awards from organisations such as the World Economic Forum. In 2014, Forbes listed her as one of the 10 Female Tech Founders to Watch in Africa.
To follow Rebecca’s debate on Delly TV
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