Cameroon - Business creation project

Describe your project or startup in a few words

UTEE is a conception of an entrepreneurial higher institution not only offering a wide range of accredited university courses in remote areas, but also enabling like-minded students to regroup and co-found a startup alongside their academic studies.

01.01 Describe your project in more detail

UTEE is a concept of a university that produces not only graduates but also entrepreneurs, by enabling students to form groups of 5 like-minds and thus conceptualize a business which they will run from a startup space given them. To permit that, curriculums are designed such that students get to be in school for at least 4 days of lectures, and a day for their startup. The students either start working as part-timers at existing startups, or part-timers in their own conceptualized startups. UTEE provides these groups with startup capital, visibility and coaching. The MINESUP is gearing at creating students that can self-employ after their university courses. Given that in remote areas, parents barely have the finances to afford private universities, UTEE will operate on a hybrid fee policy, whereby some get to pay part of a decent percentage of the fees in cash, and part with farm produce, as farming is their main activity.

01.02 What is the main problem you are trying to solve?

It is often said that Education is power, however, this power is not evenly distributed among the inhabitants of remote communities in Cameroon. It is hard to believe that in Bertoua and surrounding towns, there is no professional higher institution to take care of the needs of the ever-growing population, both the English and French populations. Given that these areas are still underdeveloped compared to other towns in Cameroon, the cost of living there is relatively bearable, as such Bertoua principally has been a trampoline for IDPs from the NOSO regions of Cameroon. The only State university in Bertoua offers courses not adapted for self-employment nor to join the very competitive employment market. UTEE is thus meant to primarily solve the problem of inaccessibility of an affordable higher institution that not only equips students for self-employment, but also ensures that the students start a business project while at school.

01.03 Tell us the major benefits and/or advantages of using the product/service that your project intends to provide (at least 3).

Students at UTEE will start businesses while they’re still at school. Moreover, groups of students will have visibility for their project, as well as startup capital even from the general public. As such, there is no unnecessary pressure to look for a job after school, nor to start filing for a visa to exit the country. In this way, our economy will keep its elites and will benefit from their entrepreneurial impact. Startups in more developed areas of Cameroon, wishing to expand their business can readily access a team at UTEE, trained to handle franchises or running a startup branch. Parents will enjoy a hybrid tuition fee option, whereby part is paid in cash and the other part progressively provided with farm produce, as this farming is the main activity. These farm produce will be shipped to wholesalers in areas of shortages like Douala. Thus, amortizing the levels of shortages in these areas like Douala.

01.04 Please describe who exactly your project is aimed at serving. Who are the targeted beneficiaries?

This project is aimed at helping youths in remote areas who do not have a fair opportunity to attend higher education and start and impactful journey. This involves the indigenes of remote areas in the east region, and the mass of the IDPs from NOSO, who are trying to settle. Moreover, UTEE takes into consideration the parents who will have less financially to properly get their children into a higher institute. As such UTEE offers a hybrid tuition fee system.

01.05 When did you start working on your project?

2022-12-13

01.06 How many other partners are associated with your business venture?

1

01.07 Among the other partners, how many are female?

1

01.08 Please describe the profile of each of the other partners (skills, experience, etc.)

1) Stephen Lyonga Azeh Stephen is a versatile easy-going person, who is a Master of Business Administrations, specialized in Finance management. He equally has extensive knowledge in project management and startup business development, as he has trained 2500+ startup founders across Africa, under the Tony Elumelo Foundation for 2 years. Leading a hybrid team of 14, he sourced funding worth $16,500 for 6 Startups across Africa. He equally offers lectures at a private university parttime. He has been a senior business developer for 2 logistics startups for over 2 years altogether. He has an MBA in Finance. 2.) Brandy Fri Ngwe is a medical student in her final years who has a lot of interest in the education sector, as she wishes to improve the apt of medical practitioners in local communities, in view of raising the local standards of this profession to international standards. She has a BSc. in Biomedical Sciences, and has since then been a senior mentor to upcoming medical students.

01.09 If you have a website, a social media page (Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin…), or app, please provide the link here:

01.10 Which industry best describes your project?

Other: Education and Startup

02.01.01 My project contributes to the No poverty goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.01.02 No poverty - Justification

UTEE’s end goal is geared towards breaking the chain of unemployment, which strongly contributes to poverty in our communities. UTEE is aimed at ensuring that the primary victims, who are students, graduate not to look for jobs, but to expand their already created joint ventures or that of another startup for which they are franchisees. Through a rigorous implementation of an entrepreneurship program, and training on how to initiate and bankable business and thereafter hunt for funds nationally and internationally, we hope to create teams of students who first love the idea of self-employment and work hard at being economic agents in the society. Thus, alleviating poverty.

02.02.01 My project contributes to the Zero hunger goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.02.02 Zero hunger - Justification

While in remote communities, farming is a main activity, hunger is usually not a cause of concern as households have farm products to live on. However, in bigger cities, food shortages are creating hikes in prices as such the vast majority of low-income earners do not get to feed on a balanced diet. With UTEE’s hybrid tuition fee model, where part of the fees paid by these parents in rural areas is cash and the other part with cash equivalents, precisely farm products, UTEE will ensure that these farm products are shipped to wholesalers in cities of shortages, thus recuperating the other part of the fees in a sustainable way, easy for the parents and beneficial for the community.

02.03.01 My project contributes to the Good health and well-being goal

5

02.03.02 Good health and well-being - Justification

Given that UTEE, under the direction of one of the founders who is soon being certified as a medical doctor, will equally run health care programs. The students following this program will equally be trained to manage clinics and other healthcare facilities, such that they get to improve on the presence of these facilities in their local communities, thus ensuring good health and well being for the community.

02.04.01 My project contributes to the Quality education goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.04.02 Quality education - Justification

It is often said that employment is the final goal of education. This is because one is accountable for knowledge obtained. As such, acquiring knowledge is one thing, but implementing that knowledge is another and the most important. UTEE seeks to create youths that are responsible for the knowledge they obtain at the university. These youths do not only gain academic knowledge, but practical knowhow on implementing such knowledge in the field. Given our system of dedicating at least one day where the students will get to put their hands in business, this will enable them to directly implement what they learn, and thus this will stick more firmly in their minds. They will get to see what doesn’t work in reality and what does. They will be able to bring back their findings on a daily basis to their lecturers, for these ones to elaborate on the practicality of the knowledge they’re being given. All in a bit to ensure quality education that achieves its purpose.

02.05.01 My project contributes to the Gender equality goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.05.02 Gender equality - Justification

UTEE will ensure that both girls and boys are given equal chances and where necessary, increase the chances of one, usually, girls, as on remote communities, girls are often not present in the economic sphere. UTEE will ensure that seminars geared at restructuring the minds of these ones are conducted on campus and the girls that have broken that bias will be properly portrayed as examples in that community. We will organize academic programs where girls are more like absent and motivate them with scholarships or other packages like funding for businesses in particular sectors. The academic and professional progress of both boys and girls will be carefully given consideration, in order to strike a balance, using tools that will be ours.

02.06.01 My project contributes to the Clean water and sanitation goal

4

02.06.02 Clean water and sanitation - Justification

02.07.01 My project contributes to the Affordable and clean energy goal

4

02.07.02 Affordable and clean energy - Justification

02.08.01 My project contributes to the Decent work and economic growth

7 - Strongly Agree

02.08.02 Decent work and economic growth - Justification

The whole engine of UTEE’s concept is meant to ensure decent work and economic growth, starting in rural areas. Rural communities have a lot of resources but these resources are not exploited in a professional way by the inhabitants. Injecting the culture of entrepreneurship will see a growth in the economic activities in these areas and will ensure that the inhabitants do get decent work, which they either create themselves or they expand from existing startups.

02.09.01 My project contributes to the Industry innovation and infrastructure

6

02.09.02 Industry innovation and infrastructure - Justification

Given that farming is a primary activity in rural areas, our entrepreneurship program will seek to find ways in which such activity is modernized from start to finish. And teams of students will get to innovate such practices themselves, before looking at other economic areas that need innovation. As such, the process of planting, harvesting, transporting, selling and distributing will be innovated by these youths by means of digitalization and other tools. Entrepreneurship is all about innovating, as such, we will ensure that each startup project proposed by each group has that aspect of innovation.

02.10.01 My project contributes to the Reduced inequalities goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.10.02 Reduced inequalities - Justification

There is visibly an uneven distance between cities and rural areas in terms of education and economic growth. UTEE aims at closing that gap by bringing higher education to the access of these communities, but also economic growth opportunities. This will gradually reduce the inequalities in educational level and economic growth that exist between most cities and places like Bertoua, which is a town, but is still suffering from the presence of a private institute with all the configurations necessary to get students educated and employed. With this, urban areas will feel the heat of competitiveness coming from rural areas. This will attract other economic agents to these areas.

02.11.01 My project contributes to the Sustainable cities and communities goal

5

02.11.02 Sustainable cities and communities - Justification

With a system where youths are creating employment for themselves, we hope to achieve sustainable communities.

02.12.01 My project contributes to the Responsible consumption and production goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.12.02 Responsible consumption and production - Justification

Rural communities produce farm products, bur also youths. These youths need to be used by the society at large. As such, instead having an educational system that leaves youths with the desire to fly out of the country, UTEE seeks to help these youths regain confidence in their economy and thus make themselves available to be consumed by the economy. Moreover, they will ensure that local products are being consumed by the population, as they will find innovative ways to arrive at that.

02.13.01 My project contributes to the Climate action goal

4

02.13.02 Climate action - Justification

02.14.01 My project contributes to the Life below water goal

4

02.14.02 Life below water - Justification

02.15.01 My project contributes to the Life on land goal

4

02.15.02 Life on land - Justification

02.16.01 My project contributes to the Peace justice and strong institutions goal

4

02.16.02 Peace justice and strong institutions - Justification

02.17.01 My project contributes to the Partnerships for the goal

4

02.17.02 Partnerships for the goal - Justification

05.01 There are a large number of customers who already use a product/service very similar to the product/service we envision creating.

3

05.02 The product/service we envision creating represents an entirely new type of product/service.

6

05.03 The product/service we envision creating could be described as a new technology.

5

05.04 The product/service we envision creating is an improvement on an existing product or service.

7 - Strongly Agree

05.05 The product/service we envision creating could be described as an extension of a range of products or services.

5

05.06 The product/service we envision creating responds to a demand or need that has not been satisfied by other products/services.

7 - Strongly Agree

05.07 The product/service we envision creating is a new version of an old product/service.

5

05.08 Justification

There are many private universities in Cameroon, but there is none with a startup Lab for their students to start and grow businesses under the mentorship programs put in place by the institution. UTEE’s Startup Lab, with online coworking spaces, and exposure to a wide range of startups will be pivotal in the education industry, where graduates will not only celebrate the obtention of a diplomat, but more importantly, the ability to expand what the business they started. Furthermore, specifically in Bertoua, there are no private universities. The only organization owned university in Bertoua is extremely expensive for the average family.

05.09 Who are your main potential competitors and what makes you stand out from them?

Our main competitors will be the state university in Bertoua, which offers only restricted courses, and none of which are business courses. The only other higher institution religiously owned in Bertoua offers very few courses but at an unaffordable price. This institution equally has no provision for professional integration of their students. UTEE on the other hand will ensure that there is a variety of courses, but business and healthcare courses. Moreover, tuition will be very affordable and will have a hybrid tuition option for parents who wish to go in for this option. We will equally ensure the professional integration of all the students enrolled at UTEE, through our Startup Lab program.

10.06 Are you initiating actions within your community to promote the role of female entrepreneurs?

Among the 2500+ entrepreneurs that I have trained are a large number of females. I have equally helped these ones locate opportunities specifically meant for female entrepreneurs and helped them in ways required for them to present their businesses to panels evaluating them for funding. I have helped female entrepreneurs from the NOSO to strongly establish their business. In 2021, I helped specifically 2 females to obtain funding for their business from the TEF. From 2022 to 2023, I have helped 4 women from the NOSO to start and grow their businesses here in Douala. A particular case of a lady who started producing oil pepper but didn’t know to go about making it a professional business. I helped her find a suitable name for that business “Pot Master”, a suitable brand logo, online presence and a sales strategy. As urged, she has been able to enter into a commission agreement with many retailers. This has enabled her and her family to earn a decent living.