Harambe Endeavor – USA

Presents
HARAMBE-CAMEROON

L-R – Patrick Eka (Logistics Director), Cynthia Tchetagni (Public Relations Officer), David Ambassa (Financial
Director), Rosine Matsingoum (Secretary General), Olivia Mukam (President), Adrien Tchuidjang (Vice President)
*Absent on the picture: Joshua Ajieh (Marketing Director)

HARAMBE-CAMEROON’s OFFICIAL LAUNCH

Thursday, November 12th, 2009
At Royal-Co, Bastos. Yaoundé-Cameroon
 Agenda of the Evening
 Welcome
 Cynthia Tchetagni, PRO
 Olivia Mukam, President
 Spiritual Blessing
 Guest Speakers
 Presentation of Harambe Cameroon
 Discussions
 Call to Action
 Commitments
 Cocktail/ Networking

In Attendance
On Thursday, the 12th of November 2009, Harambe-Cameroon, a private and apolitical organization lead by
the bright minds of Cameroon in the Diaspora and in the country, officially launched its endeavor at Royal-Co
Bastos, Yaounde. Harambe-Cameroon successfully brought together Cameroon’s key actors from
various walks of life and from distinct socio-political and economic sectors of the nation.

 Students from leading Universities in Yaounde

o University of Yaounde I and II, ISSEA (Statistics), ENS (Teachers’ Training), IFORD
(Demographics), ENSP (Polytechnic), SupDeCo (Business School), CIFADEG
(International Business), IRIC (International Relations School)

 Professors and Deans representing Cameroon’s Academia

o University of Yaounde I and II, SupDeCo, President of CIFADEG

 Businesses/Corporations
o Director General of Compagnie Africaine de Conception et de Construction en Batiment
et Travaux Publique (CACOCO BTP), Representative of Telecomm company -
Cameroon Development (CamDev), Director of SAGEN Group, GUINESS Cameroon
Public Relations Officer.

 General Managers
o Caisse de stabilisation des prix des hydrocarbures (CSPH), Hotel Mont Febe

 Government Agencies

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 o National Employment Fund (FNE), Ministry of Higher Education (MinESup),
Ministry of Professional Training (MinForp)

 Civil Society Organizations (CSO)

o Peer Education Program (PEP) Cameroon, Children’s Reassurance Ministry
(CREAM), Cameroon Youths and Students Forum For Peace (CAMYOSFOP),
Solutions Aux Migrations Clandestines (SMIC)

 Media Representation
o Radio France International (RFI), FM94

 International Representation
o UNICEF Communications Specialist, Harvard Law Alumnus, UN Youth
Spokesperson Africa 2015

All were present to welcome Harambe-Cameroon in Cameroon’s civil society, as well as to discuss how
together we can effectively engage the next generation of Cameroonian professionals through
entrepreneurship.

Guest Speakers
Mr Nfinyo Mabu – Juriste /Entrepreneur Mr Belinga of the National Employment Fund
(FNE)
As a Jurist by
training, who has As the leading
worked for 6 years Government
at the Muna Muna Employment
Law Firm (the Agency, FNE
biggest law Firm in sponsors the
Cameroon); and as creation of small
the former Vice and medium
President of TAUG enterprises. Mr
– conceptualizers of Belinga stated that
Le Bus and Le Car FNE fully supports
(city transporation), Harambe-Cameroon
Nfinyo Mabu spoke in its mission to
with authority about encourage
the need for Cameroon’s youth
Cameroon’s youth to be engaged in Cameroon’s to be entrepreneurs. According to him, it’s a viable
development. He urged all present to support public-private partnership that would help both
Harambe Cameroon’s effort to inspire and engage institutions reach their objectives – to increase the
a generation of problem-solvers. number of self-employed Cameroonians.

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 Presentation of Harambe-Cameroon
 Harambe-Cameroon is a private, apolitical
and legally-Cameroonian branch of a much
larger alliance called the Harambe Endeavor
 Harambe Endeavor is an alliance of African
students studying at leading colleges and
universities in the United States, Canada and
the United Kingdom.
o Its mission is to capture, inform and engage
Africa’s global intellectual capital towards a
sustained, strategic and concerted
development of the African continent.

Established in September 2007 as a non-profit enterprise, Harambe Endeavor has quickly grown in its
outreach with 18 African Countries currently being represented. Arguably the most powerful network of the
next generation of African professionals, anywhere in the world.

Specifically, Harambe Cameroon is spearheading the first Social Entrepreneurship Program in the
nation called the Harambe Incubator – Cameroon Entrepreneurship Program (HICEP), which seeks to
change the paradigm as it relates to competition and entrepreneurship amongst Cameroonian students.

HICEP is modeled, in part, after Massachusetts Institute of

Technology’s (MIT) 100k Business plan competition, and it is
designed to tap into the idealism and creativity of Cameroon’s
youth. To inspire a new generation of young leaders and
entrepreneurs who see problems as opportunities in need
of solutions and have the poise and wherewithal to engage
others to make long-lasting social impact. To foster HICEPs
objectives, the entrepreneurship program is structured into 4
basic incentivized categories which are:

1: Elevator Pitch Contest; 2: Executive Summary Competition

3: Business Incubator; 4: Implementation

Students will compete in an elevator pitch competition. Successful competitors will then graduate to the
next stage – the executive summary competition and from there, successful competitors will be invited to
an intensive 8-weeks business camp (Business Incubator) where students will be empowered with
the tools to translate their ideas into ventures as they are exposed to industry experts and mentors
and engage in workshops and roundtable discussions. At the end of this Incubation process, 5 teams of
3 members each will submit Business Plans. The Top- 2 teams with the best Business plan will receive
both a reward and seed funding for the implementation of their social innovation project.
 Discussions
 Pr Tchawa of University of Yaounde I, Professor of
Geography, was posivitely surprised by the Harambe
Cameroon initiative. He reassured the Harambe-Cameroon
team that Cameroon is ready for such endeavor lead by
youth, and there is a great need for the youth to be both
more critical in their research and result-oriented.

 The President of the Student Government of the

University of Yaounde I, stated Harambe Cameroon is
greatly welcomed by Cameroonian students, and they all look
forward to compete in the annual entrepreneurship program.

 A Professor/Engineer at the Polytechnic School of Yaounde, advised Harambe Cameroon to create

synergies with existing entrepreneurship programs, such as TechniPol – The new institution at the
Polytechnic School that does Business Incubators and Enterprise creation.

 Justice Grace Mabu, Director of the Children

Reassurance Ministry (CREAM) suggested there
be a Harambe-CREAM partnership, which would be
a medium for orphans and vulnerable children
who have reached university level to be engaged in
Cameroon’s development.


Following Justice Mabu’s comment, Mr Emmanuel
Mukam proposed the idea of a Harambe
Cameroon-Pepiniere. Essentially, a Harambe-
Cameroon branch that would instill the values of
entrepreneurship and problem-solver’s mindset amongst Cameroonian children.

Call To Action
Our Endeavor requires us to move beyond discussion, to strain
beyond great initiatives and to achieve beyond hope. For we all
know, Africa needs action. As meaningful action will be the
yardstick of our success, and will determine whether students
will have the opportunity to effectively engage in the
advancement of our nation.

In this light, Nfinyo Mabu made a Call to Action, for all those
present to specifically state how they could concretely
contribute in the realization of Harambe-Cameroon.

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 Commitments /Actions

Mr. Belinga, of the National Employment Fund, gave

Harambe-Cameroon a booklet with 100 Business Ideas in
 Mrs Enoh Marguerite, Head of Department at CSPH –
Cameroon, to share with Harambe’s future contestants.
promised to support Harambe’s administration.

 Mr Pierre Moifo, General Manager of Mont Febe Hotel

offered a conference room at the 5-star hotel, to Harambe-
Cameroon.

Ngalim Eugene - Director of Publication-The Voice of Peace

Magazine – will feature Harambe-Cameroon in the January
Edition of the Panafrican magazine.

Marcelline Bih, Inspirational Speaker and author of Your

Path to Success offered her services to inspire Harambe-
Cameroon’s youths, and promised 50 copies of her book to the
top-50 contestants of Harambe’s Competition.

Mr. Emmanuel
Mukam, Director General of CACOCO-BTP pledged to
reward the First Business Plan Prize, the sum of ONE million
Dr Okala, Representative of University of Yaounde I, stated FCFA ($2,000).
the University is favorably open to any areas of collaboration
with Harambe-Cameroon.

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 The Cocktail

Graced by our beautiful hostesses, the cocktail was colorful and refreshing.

Discussing with the President and Vice President

of Student Government of SupdeCo Interacting with Dr Okala, Representative of
University of Yaounde I

Networking with Cameroon’s young movers-and-

shakers.

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 What’s Next?
NEXT STEP: Elevator Pitch Contest (EPC) – January 15th, 2010
 Who can compete? All university students in Yaounde (for the Pilot program), with a BAC+2 level of
studies are elligible to compete in the EPC. Fifty (50) students will be selected.
 What is it? Within the span of 60 seconds, the contestant defines a local problem and articulates a
convincing solution to that problem,.
 Why is it significant? The EPC will help students express themselves in an eloquent and articulate
manner. Each student that competes will be pushed to identify a local problem and propose a
convincig solution to it. Thus, marking the first step in Harambe’s objective; to stimulate a
generation of problem solvers who see problems as opportunities

PLAN OF ACTION ( From mid-November to mid- January)

 Mobilize University Students
o Harambe-Cameroon will organize weekly info-sessions at each leading university campus in
Yaounde.
 Mass Media Campaign
o By mid-December, Harambe Cameroon will organize a Press Conference, to mediatize the
upcoming Elevator Pitch Contest (EPC).
 Raise Funds for the EPC + Entrepreneurship Program
o Harambe Cameroon is still raising funds for the realization of the Elevator Pitch Contest.
o By end of November Sponsorship proposals will be sent to potential partners, such as: MTN,
Afriland First Bank, GEOVIC , GICAM, UBA, TEXACO and more.
 Select Judges for the EPC
o The jury of the EPC will consist of 4 judges from the following sectors:
 Academia, Businesses, Government, Development Agency

 HARAMBE CAMEROON – RESEARCH AND CONSULTING TEAM

This team will be the entrepreneurial for-profit branch of Harambe-Cameroon. The team will work
in adjoint collaboration with The African Investment Corporation (AIC)– USA. They will conduct
researches, feasibility studies, market analysis, and consulting for individuals, investors and
enterprises both in Cameroon and abroad. Harambe-Cameroon has established a partnership with
the AIC-USA, and has recruited young Cameroonians with competent backgrounds , such as:
o An expert in Project analysis, Feasibility studies and Business Plan writing;
o A 2nd year student in Economics at University of Yaoundé II
o A Masters candidate in Statistics - specialized in Surveys and Market Analysis
o A 2008 Masters graduate in Finance and Business Management.
 Early December 2009, this team will undergo a one-week training in Consulting, provided by the
African Investment Corporation – USA.

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 TIME EVENTS

Phase I – INTRODUCTION
Nov - Dec Harambe Cameroon Launch (November 12th, 2009 )
“Engaging the next generation of Cameroonian Professionals through Entrepreneurship”

Student Out Reach – Mobilize University students to apply for the Competition
 Massive media Campaign – Press Conference (December)
 University Campus Campaigns – weekly Harambe presentations on University campuses
(Jan – Mar Phase II - SELECTION
*Elevator Pitch Contest (February 12th 2010)
Contest open exclusively to 50 students from Yaoundé Universities (Pilot phase)
150.000 FCFA ($300) Reward for the best idea, delivered in a minute.
 January 20 –. Deadline to register for the Elevator Pitch Contest
th
 January 30 – 50 Applicants selected to deliver their pitch on February 12 .
Top 30 contesters move to the next round: The Executive Summary
* Executive Summary - 2 pager - (Due March 1st )
Top 30 Elevator Pitchers submit Executive summaries.
st
 March 31 - The 15 best Executive Summaries, invited to the Incubation Phase

Apr – June Phase III – INCUBATION

*Incubation Process Begins ( April 1st)
15 Harambe Fellows – First Batch of the HICEP Club
 Fellows will be offered a specialized menu of support resources and services include:
Management coaching, business plan coaching, administrative services, technical
support, business networking, creative thinking, Analyzing problems as opportunities.
 In May - Students put their skills to the test through service learning activities to solve
challenges in their community.
May 31st - Incubation Process Concludes. Deadline to submit Business Plan
HICEP CLOSING WEEK ( June 1st – 6th, 2010)
 Graduation of HICEP Class of 2010 (June 5, 2010)
 Workshops, Round table discussions, panels
 Guest speakers from USA, France, Cameroon
*Business Plan Competition Finale (June 5, 2010)* 1 million FCFA – First Prize

June - Aug Phase IV – FOLLOW UP

 Implementation of Top-Business Plan- In partnership with Business Development Service
Providers, the Top two Business Plans will be provided with seed-funding for their
implementation.
 Internships Opportunities–HICEP Club fellows will have access to internship programs with
local businesses and NGOs.
 Regional Conference in Africa – In collaboration with Harambe-Nigeria, the BPC finalists
will attend the HISARD annual summer conference in Lagos.

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 Ask What You Can Do?
In order to tap into the creativity of the next generation of African professionals, the youth need to
take control of their destiny with the help of their predecessors.

We acknowledge that we are not the panacea to all of Cameroon’s problems and we therefore seek to
procure development through a concerted effort. In the spirit of Harambe, as we come together as
one –students, young professionals , business owners, media, government agents, civil servants and
international agents - we will engage a new generation of problem-solvers, transform the problems of
our country into opportunities in need of action; and contribute effectively in the strategic and
sustained advancement of our nation.
The Harambe-Cameroon Alliance

Contact Us
Cynthia Tchetagni Olivia Mukam
Public Relations Officer President
Harambe-Cameroun Harambe-Cameroun
email: [email protected] email: [email protected]
Tel: 237 9700 7684 (Cameroun) Tel: 237 7013 5705 (Cameroun)

For more pictures of Harambe Cameroon Launch please go to our Picasa Web Album:
http://picasaweb.google.fr/Harambe.Cameroun/HarambeCameroonLaunch?feat=email#