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One AFCON, many fortunes!

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The 33rd edition of the African Cup of Nations has come and gone but for the host country Cameroon, the memory lingers. For many citizens, the wish is that the competition could be held in the country annually as it brought about economic and infrastructural transformation to the country.

The Total Energies Africa Cup of Nations Cameroon 2021 set new records on CAF digital and social media pages, including the platforms of its partners, TikTok.

In the area of infrastructure, Cameroon witnessed a great turnaround as the government spent over 520bn CFA ($885m) renovating and upgrading infrastructure – roads, hospitals, airports, hotels and the development of the sports facilities. The stadium in the capital Yaoundé which hosted the opening match, cost in the region of $280m.

In Douala, the country’s economic capital and its second-largest city, sits a modern masterpiece when it comes to stadia; the 50,000 seat Japoma Stadium which cost $240m. In Bafoussam and Limbé, two 20,000-capacity stadiums were built, while the one in Garoua, with 25,000 seats, has been renovated.

Many people, especially the youths, were engaged in construction works for which they got paid.  Aside empowering many people, it also boosted the fortunes of many companies and traders who had to supply all the different equipment needed for the construction works.  Apart from people who worked at construction sites, many people were also employed to sell tickets and provide other services during the competition.

TOURISM

The tournament also boosted tourism with the government taking the lead by funding a brand-new five-star hotel in Douala, the Krystal Palace, where the official CAF delegation stayed. Eighty percent of the hotels where the teams, journalists and tourists stayed were either new or renovated.

The competition featured 24 teams from all regions in Africa. A good number of the national teams were accosted by their teeming supporters who took accommodation in some of the hotels. Apart from paying for the rooms, the guests also spent monies on drinks, food and other things within and outside the hotels consequently boosting the revenue of the country and income of the people.

Transporters, on the other hand, had a swell time moving people from one area to the other.

A commercial driver recalled, “It was a swell time we had during the tournament. A number of the visitors wanted to know different places and were ready to pay to be taken to those places. Many of us made good money doing this. It was a period during which our economic life witnessed a great turnaround.”

Direct income from travelling supporters and tourists in 2022 was estimated at over $200m. Domestically, the tournament proved a very welcome relief from the lockdowns and political tensions.

TELEVISION COMMERCIALS

Apart from monies realized from gate takings at the various stadia, the country also realized huge revenue from television commercials from local and international organisations that advertised their products.

INFORMAL BUSINESSES BOOM

Even before a ball was kicked, the AFCON soccer tournament was already breathing some life back into businesses in Cameroon.  The fan zones set up for local supporters unable to see the matches in the stadia in the capital, were beehives of businesses. The fan zone also provided a strong business opportunity for the merchants running the stalls. About a third of the area was occupied by food stalls cooking meat and fish on huge barbecues.

People were seated in the stands to follow the match on smaller screens or were served at one of the hundreds of tables set up between the grandstand and the big screen.

Marie Josiane, 38, who worked in one of the stands, said, “Business was good during the tournament, especially when Cameroon was playing. But when they were not playing, we had to fight a bit for customers. Personally, I’m not hugely into football but I watched because it was taking place in my country. And I supported everyone; Cameroon, Morocco, Gabon!”

Christine Essomba, 30, a Cameroonian fan wearing her team’s shirt, said she discovered the zone during a drink with friends: “I didn’t know about this place before but I had to be coming back every day. I was a nice atmosphere, there were plenty of people and a lot of emotion.”

“We had been waiting eight years for the competition to take place in Cameroon, » she said. « I’m not a particularly big football fan, but it was the Africa Cup of Nations and it was taking place in my country. I had to make the most of it – we had been waiting for eight years.”

Although Cameroon wasn’t playing, she took a side, supporting Burkina Faso against Gabon.

Elvis Ondo Nkooulouest was sitting with his brothers a few tables away. The 41-year-old travelled all the way from the Gabonese capital, Libreville to support his national team. The small groups were all wearing Gabon shirts and were enjoying the second-round action while drinking Cameroonian beer.

After watching Gabon’s group stage in Yaoundé, they resorted to the fan zone for the next round because Gabon’s contest against Burkina Faso took part in Limbé on the Atlantic coast.

“It was a well-organized fan zone, with food and drink; it was very nice,” said Ondo Nkooulouest. “Cameroon is a football country so I knew it’d be a friendly atmosphere.”

“Fans came here to be together,” Mal Njam added. “A lot of foreigners came to watch the football. On the weekends, people came to spend some family time with their children. The rest of the time, it was often quite well-to-do people aged about 25 to 30 who came to relax after work. Younger people didn’t come as much; they preferred places with fewer rules. Everyone enjoyed the football in their own way.”

Some locals switched businesses, like 23-year-old Issa Hamadou, who used to trade in boiled eggs in Yaoundé.

He turned to sportswear because of the football event and believes it is a profitable business.

« I sold jerseys like those of Cameroon, Senegal, Ivory Coast— in fact, the jerseys of all 24 countries that participated in this year’s AFCON, » Hamadou told DW.

He said « the competition generated a lot of enthusiasm. If the Cameroon Indomitable Lions had won, the country would have benefited a lot. The price of jerseys would have risen and we would have made more money. »

Hamadou is not the only one who got ready for the AFCON. Many hotels and local trading premises undertook significant renovation work to broaden the customer base and increase profits.

At the Melen neighborhood in Yaoundé, a bar owner also gave her structure a facelift — a new coat of paint, new furniture and the pace of renovations picked up steam.

« We really worked on customer service to welcome our customers well, for them to feel comfortable. We didn’t have TV sets so we bought some. And made sure that the place was up to standard. We believed that we should have at least a 30% increase, » the owner told ND.

According to the chief economist at the African Business Information Bank, Kennedy Tumemnta, many businesses broke even. He said the economic spinoffs from AFCON were huge.

« For example, talking to this lady who was the owner of a prominent Hotel in Yaoundé, she said before the beginning of AFCON, she had already hosted one of the teams and that raised a revenue for two weeks of approximately $24,000 (€21,000), an amount that she didn’t make for the whole 2020-2021 year due to the pandemic, » he told ND.

Tumemnta said other artisans were excited because tourists came in. Hawkers and those in the informal sector were also enthusiastic.

The building of stadia and other infrastructures across the country provided some temporary employment to young people in Cameroon. In this country, nearly 40% of the population live below the poverty line.

« Most of the cities that hosted AFCON benefitted from not only stadiums but also road networks. It also created jobs for some young people. However, although most of the companies that constructed some of these sports infrastructures were foreign companies, we think that the economic fallouts for the laborers and local engineers were so huge, » Tumemnta added.

Record numbers for Total Energies Africa Cup of Nations fan engagement and tournament now amongst leading content globally; a check on CAF website showed a huge fan engagement like never before.  The fan engagements:

Exceeded 16 million followers on AFCON social media channels.

#AFCON2021 on TikTok curated more than 1 billion video views from CAF produced videos ad well as the user-generated content.  Impressions across all channels was almost 950 million, more than 22 million profile visits happened on Twitter only.

The YouTube channel hit the 1 million subscriber milestone, adding more than 350,000 new subscribers and 3 million hours of watch time from opening to finale. 300 million video views … Fans loved the video content we produced and watched our videos more with TikTok at first place with more than 179 million video views. Millions interacted with AFCON social media channels from different regions across the world; more than 28 million interactions happened on different types of content. Facebook only had more than 400,000 comments before the tournament finale.

Reached more than 50 million fans in Facebook in 35 days.

The Total Energies Africa Cup of Nations Cameroon 2021 set new records on CAF digital and social media pages including the platforms of its partners, TikTok.

Fan engagement was at an all-time high.

With one Billion views on TikTok, 900 million impressions across all channels, 2.8 million hours of watch time on YouTube channels on the day of the final, the Total Energies Africa Cup of Nations Cameroon was one of the best performing products globally.

“These are amazing numbers, simply reaffirming our belief that the Total Energies Africa Cup of Nations is a powerful tool and a digital platform that has been under leveraged in the past. We created a product that amongst the best globally and this is not just talk now – but the results are there for everyone to see,” CAF General Secretary Veron Mosengo-Omba commented.

Mosengo-Omba added: “We leveraged a number of partnerships including our new sponsors TikTok to grow and drive our fan engagement. We would like to thank the fans and supporters of African football without whom this story would not be possible. The Total Energies Africa Cup of Nations is the best platform in Africa to communicate to the fans. We are a strong commercial vehicle and a leading content generator in our continent.”

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Nigerian Community praises Consul General Clark-Omeru over resolving Resident Permit issues in Cameroon

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Consul General Clark-Omeru hosts Nigeria Community

…urges them to be law abiding citizens in host country

The Consul-General of Nigeria to Douala, the Republic of Cameroon, Ambassador (HRM) Queen Efe A. Clark-Omeru has hosted the Nigerian community in the Littoral Region for the second time to show appreciation for relentless services rendering to Nigeria nationals residing in the region of the host country.

It could be recalled that the executive of the Nigerian community paid courtesy visit to the Consulate General in May 2022 to express their maximum appreciation to the Mission who has been helpful in resolving pressing issues with the host country.

According to her speech, the CG welcomed the Nigerian Community executives led by the President, Honourable B.I.C Okwujiaku and provided details of the Consulate progress with the host country over pending issues concerning Nigerian residents in the region.

« It is my pleasure to welcome you to this event of New Year visit/wishes to me and the Consulate, » the statement reads.

« Since my arrival in June 2021, and with the presentation of my Exequatur which I assured you that the Consulate would not rest its oars by ensuring  that the issue of molestation  will be a thing of past in the history country. The Consulate has met several times with the officials of the immigration of the host country with particular reference to resident permit, exit Visa and the matter was resolved amicably as the immigration rights accorded to members of Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC)

region is also accorded to Nigeria due to the already subsisting bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries. »
The Nigeria CG also highlighted the issues of non-issuance of Resident permits which is a great challenge to Nigerian residents in the Littoral region as it is contrary to it immigration law.

« The issue of non-issuance of Resident Permit has attracted my attention, on that basis, I directed my officers on 10th February 2023, accompanied by the president and some executive members of the Nigerian community to meet with new Commissioner  EMI-immigration Madame Gertrude Bikok and the matter was also resolved due to the subsisting bilateral relations between the two countries.

The Consul General was excited to proudly commend the Nigeria community over their successful business activities which were satisfied by the host authorities. But urges her compatriots to be more tolerance of each other and remain law abiding to the host country.

In responding to the CG’s speech, the President of the Nigeria Community, Honourable B.I.C Okwujiaku heaps praise on the first female Consul General in Douala for her breath of peace among Nigerians in the region.

« Last year, we came to say thank you for the ones you have done. We have come again to further demonstrate our joy for your constant support, caring and motherly advise and solidarity  to us as your fellow compatriots in Cameroon, » he said.

« History will record it that as the first female Consul General in Douala. Nigerians have benefited from your good leadership and skills of work, » he added.

Also appreciating the CG is Eminent philanthropist, HRH Eze Thomas .J. Onyengubo, Eze Gburugburu 1 of Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo in Cameroon, who also urged the Nigerian community members to remain united and be law abiding to the host country.

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10TH ANIVERSARY OF THE CAMEROON LEADERSHIP ACADEMY – FINAL THOUGHTS

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From the 18th to the 21st August 2022, the Pastoral Centre St Joseph of Kribi (Cameroon) hosted the 10th edition of what has become an annual ‘rendez-vous’ of capacity building of young Cameroonian Leaders and Entrepreneurs selected on the basis of their civic engagement, professional achievement and patriotic spirit.
 
Through this Academy, the Pan African Leadership and Entrepreneurship Foundation (PLF) by Go Ahead Africa Ltd has been contributing to the empowerment of hundreds of young people in the fields of Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Management.
 
Held in partnership with some of the most influential stakeholders in the Cameroonian economic ecosystem (Go Ahead Africa Ltd, Groupe SABC, the Port Authority of Kribi (PAK), BGFIBank Cameroon, Balafon Media and Vox Africa); and despite unforeseen circumstances, this 10th edition succeeded to gather forty-six participants (23 boys and 23 girls) aged between 18 and 35 years old under the theme « Challenges and opportunities of youth in a VUCA environment (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) ».
 
For the Founder of the PLF, Roland KWEMAIN, these young Leaders are true ambassadors of the emergence and prosperity of Cameroon. « Our goal is to train a world class of Young Cameroonian Leaders/Entrepreneurs who are masters of their destiny and resolutely at the service of the emergence of our country and even of our continent, Africa » he said.

During four (4) intense days under the expert guidance of Leadership Coach/Trainer
Emile SINGEH and Assistant Coach Perrin KWENKEU, the 2022 batch developed through a tailor-made program:
·       Leadership and Management Skills
·       Entrepreneurial spirit
·       Spirit of Individual Social Responsibility and Active Citizenship
·       Knowledge and Valorisation of the Great Historical Figures of Cameroon
·       Appropriation of the Vision of a prosperous Cameroon
 
During this unique and extraordinary life experience punctuated by short nights (4 hours/day) and intense days of emotions, knowledge acquisition and teambuilding, the participants had the opportunity to meet and learn from their 2 Patrons:
·       Mr Patrice MELOM (GM PAK)
·       Mr Cyrille BOJIKO (Founder and CEO Balafon Media Group)

They also had the great opportunity to interact with some of the Leaders and Managers who drive the economic scene.
Among them we can name Mr Abakal MAHAMAT (General Manager, BGFIBank Cameroon), Dr Elizabeth FON (General Manager, TESHO), Mrs Arielle WAFFO (General Manager, DKT Cameroon), Mr Dagobert TAHA (Design Thinking Expert), Mrs Pulton ARUNA (Consultant, Corporate Trainer in Management Skills, Customer Care, Food Safety, Quality Management, Training Techniques).
 
As key part of the program, the participants worked on reinventing the CLA model during the traditional ‘24 heures Chrono’ where they spend 24 hours in a row without sleeping in a journey to better understand (themselves) and learn how to surpass their self-expectations.

As the Cameroon Leadership Academy heads to new starts for its 10 years’ Convention on December, 10th taking with it an annual event that brought together hundreds of young Leaders and Entrepreneurs; it’s worth reflecting on its legacy and on the impact it made during the past ten (10) years that the event grew to empower 850 youth with the mission of training better Leaders in order to build better communities. 
Emile Désiré SINGEH
President, PLF

Du 18 au 21 août 2022, le Centre Pastoral St Joseph de Kribi (Cameroun) a accueilli la 10ème édition de ce qui est devenu un rendez-vous annuel de renforcement des capacités des jeunes leaders et entrepreneurs camerounais sélectionnés sur la base de leur engagement civique, de leur réussite professionnelle et de leur esprit patriotique. 
Grâce à cette académie, la Pan African Leadership and Entrepreneurship Foundation (PLF), une initiative du cabinet Go Ahead Africa Ltd a contribué à l’autonomisation de centaines de jeunes dans les domaines du Leadership, Entreprenariat et du Management.
Organisée en partenariat avec certains des acteurs les plus influents de l’écosystème économique camerounais (Go Ahead Africa Ltd, Groupe SABC, le Port Autonome de Kribi (PAK), BGFIBank Cameroon, Balafon Media et Vox Africa) ; et malgré des cas de force majeure cette 10ème édition a réussi à rassembler quarante-six participants (23 garçons et 23 filles) âgés de 18 à 35 ans sous le thème « Défis et opportunités de la jeunesse dans un environnement VUCA (Volatile, Incertain, Complexe et Ambigu) ». 
Pour le Fondateur de la PLF, Roland KWEMAIN, ces jeunes Leaders sont de véritables ambassadeurs de l’émergence et de la prospérité du Cameroun.  » Notre objectif est de former une classe mondiale de Jeunes Leaders/Entrepreneurs camerounais maîtres de leur destin et résolument au service de l’émergence de notre pays et même de notre continent, l’Afrique  » a-t-il déclaré.
Pendant quatre (4) jours intenses sous la direction experte du Coach/Formateur en Leadership Emile SINGEH et de l’Assistant-Coach Perrin KWENKEU, la promotion 2022 a développé grâce à un programme taillé sur mesure :
-Des Compétences en leadership et Management
-L’Esprit d’entreprise
-La Responsabilité sociale individuelle et de citoyenneté active
-La Connaissance et valorisation des grandes figures historiques du Cameroun
-L’Appropriation de la Vision d’un Cameroun prospère
 
Au cours de cette expérience de vie unique et extraordinaire ponctuée de courtes nuits (4 heures/jour) et de journées intenses en émotions, en acquisition de connaissances et en Teambuilding, les participants ont eu l’occasion de rencontrer et d’apprendre de leurs 2 Parrains :

·       Mr Patrice MELOM (DG PAK)
·       Mr Cyrille BOJIKO (Promoteur et PDG du Groupe Balafon Media)

Ils ont également eu l’occasion d’interagir avec certains des leaders et des managers qui animent la scène économique.
Parmi lesquels, nous pouvons citer M. Abakal MAHAMAT (Directeur Général, BGFIBank Cameroun), Dr Elizabeth FON (Directeur Général, TESHO), Mme Arielle WAFFO (Directeur Général, DKT Cameroun), M. Dagobert TAHA (Expert en Design Thinking), Mme Pulton ARUNA (Consultante, formatrice en management, service client, sécurité alimentaire, gestion de la qualité, techniques de formation). 
Durant le traditionnel « 24 heures Chrono » qui est en réalité l’élément clé du programme, les participants ont passé 24 heures d’affilée sans dormir afin de mieux se connaître et apprendre ainsi à dépasser leurs propres attentes. Pour cette édition, le « 24 heures Chrono » était dédié à réinventer le modèle économique de la CLA.
Alors que l’Académie Camerounaise de Leadership s’apprête à prendre un nouveau départ avec la Convention de ses 10 ans le 10 décembre 2022, emportant avec elle un événement annuel qui a rassemblé des centaines de jeunes leaders et entrepreneurs, il convient donc de réfléchir sur son héritage et à l’impact qu’ elle a eu au cours des dix (10) dernières années durant lesquelles l’événement s’est développé et a autonomisé 850 jeunes avec pour principale mission de former de meilleurs leaders afin de construire de meilleures communautés.
Emile Désiré SINGEH
Président, PLF

Pour plus d’informations sur la Fondation et ses activités, contactez :

Etienne Martial MVONDO
Directeur Exécutif, PLF
emartialmvondo@yahoo.com
+237 6 96 79 99 60 / 6 51 51 40 59

Emile Désiré SINGEH
Président, PLF
gea126@yahoo.fr
+237 6 77 82 36 12

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THE LAW SOCIETY with ELOCHUKWU JOY as president

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The law society, is the student association of the department of English law of the University of Buea, Cameroon. It encompasses all duly registered students of this department. It has been existing since the creation of the university in 1993, and stands out as the largest departmental student association, with about three thousand (3000) students at both the undergraduate and postgraduate level. With the motto| “integritas veritas justicia” meaning integrity, truth and justice, the main objective of the student association is to maintain a link between the students and the administration. The association is made up of fourteen (14) executives elected through universal suffrage, representing the various levels. The association is headed by the president who together with his/her executive are elected for an unrenewable duration of one (1) academic year. During the course of the year, the association is charged with organizing activities such as moot courts, symposiums, debates, academic interactions etc.

As a student enrolled into the department of English law during the academic year 2019-2020 and consequently became a Bonafide member of the student association. I was then, immediately elected to serve as the class delegate of my class. As the class delegate, I was the representative of the over 700 students admitted as freshmen during that academic year. Due to my diligent service as class delegate, I got elected as vice president of the law society for the academic year 2020-2021. With my experience as class delegate and then vice president, I postulated for the post of president of the law society and eventually won the election in a historic election that saw the law society produce the first female president in its over 23years of existence.

During my tenure of office as president of the Law society, my executives and I, organized a series of activities to the benefit of the students. To promote harmony and enhance a sense of belonging amongst the students, we launched the T-shirt for the department of English law. To be worn by all the students in the department on Wednesdays. Also, to create awareness on sexual harassment which is a common phenomenon in the academic milieu, we organized a symposium that was well attended by officials in the university as well as the various heads of the judiciary in the south west region. To educate the students on how to avoid, overcame and tackle issues related to sexual harassment. We also continued the customary annual activities of the law society such as moot court, academic interactions and the Law society Gala. however, amongst the many activities and events we recorded, was the launching of the gigantic project to construct a Law society coffee stand. This project is aimed at building a spot that will enable law students of the university commune together out of the usual formal environment of the classroom. We equally championed advocacy campaigns at the level of the rectorate and the Nigerian consulate in Cameroon to inquire why Cameroonian students were not being admitted in the Nigerian Law school.

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