Koree, a pioneering Cameroonian startup, has announced a strategic partnership with Fuzé, marked by a significant investment that positions the company for transformative growth in the Sub-Saharan Francophone African region.
Founded in September 2022, Koree has swiftly emerged as a leading mobile application dedicated to optimizing currency management for African consumers. The innovative platform allows users to aggregate their loose change into a diversified digital wallet, enhancing their purchasing power through cashback rewards. Imagine turning spare change into meaningful savings and improving your buying capacity — this is the promise of Koree!
Magalie Gauze-Sanga, CEO and Co-founder of Koree, expressed her excitement about the collaboration with Fuzé, stating, “We are thrilled to join the Fuzé program, which will serve as a catalyst for propelling our business. The support provided will bolster our regional expansion through technical assistance and the facilitation of strategic partnerships.”
Koree’s mission is to revolutionize the retail payment and marketing landscape in Sub-Saharan Francophone Africa, offering inclusive solutions to both consumers and merchants. Magalie Gauze-Sanga aims to address the ‘change shortage’ in the region while empowering customers through an innovative incentive reward system.
Magalie Gauze-Sanga, CEO and Co-founder of Koree. Credits: Koree
Koree operates with a focus on digitizing small change, providing a simple, secure, 100% digital, and practical solution. The platform enables shoppers to enjoy the best offers and receive incentives on their purchases, contributing to a more seamless and rewarding shopping experience.
Ali Mnif, Chief Investment Officer at Digital Africa, expressed confidence in Koree’s potential impact, saying, “Magalie and her team deeply understand the market in which they operate, bringing solutions that positively impact their clients’ sales and create value. We hope this investment will fuel Koree’s growth not only in Cameroon but also beyond.”
This partnership marks a significant milestone for Koree, as they embark on a new phase of expansion and innovation, with the support of Fuzé. As Koree continues to redefine the landscape of retail payments in Sub-Saharan Francophone Africa, the company remains committed to its mission of empowering consumers and merchants alike.
Koree is a Cameroonian startup founded in September 2022, dedicated to transforming the retail payment and marketing landscape in Sub-Saharan Francophone Africa. Through its innovative mobile application, Koree enables consumers to optimize currency management, turning spare change into meaningful savings through a cashback reward system.
We are in an increasingly dire state – overlooked and forgotten by the world at large, which allows our captors to inflict unspeakable violence upon us.
I write to you today from Kondengui Principal Prison, where I am unjustly detained with a sizeable part of my cabinet and with thousands of other Southern Cameroonian prisoners who have run afoul of the repressive regime of Paul Biya, the long-ruling despot of Cameroon.
We are in an increasingly dire state – overlooked and forgotten by the world at large, which allows our captors to inflict unspeakable violence upon us. This, in reality, is indicative of the broader struggle that my people have faced, often in silence and too often disregarded.
Over the past two years, I have the honor of serving as the president of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government. Several months ago, I was illegally abducted, together with part of my cabinet from the Nera Hotel in Abuja, Nigeria, and thereafter illegally transported to Cameroon, in violation of international law. To be sure, I am merely the latest victim of a catastrophe that has been long-simmering, evident today by a growing social fissure that has resulted in countless deaths and destruction.
Historically, The Republic of Cameroon achieved its independence on January 1, 1960, and became a member of United Nations with her own territory clearly defined, sharing a recognized boundary with Southern Cameroons. British Southern Cameroons was later granted its independence on October 1, 1961, with her own territory clearly mapped out as well, sharing common boundaries with the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Cameroon.
As such, the root cause of today’s ongoing crisis is the result of a severely botched decolonization process. And this must be addressed immediately before a lasting solution can be found, one that is built on a foundation of international law and a culture of justice and respect for basic human dignity.
Put simply, international law provides Southern Cameroons the right to self-determination. What is more, the violence and killings that are taking place in Southern Cameroons at this time, has left us with no alternative than to fight, to defend and to liberate ourselves from the shackles of black on black colonialization.
The unjust treatment of Southern Cameroonians is today, an unavoidable and tragic reality. Our people are being killed not for what they have done but for who they are. Our people have indeed been described as “rats” and “dogs” by members of Cameroon’s government. There are calls to exterminate us, and other Ambazonians, with the justification that President Biya has the right to kill everyone on the pretext of “national unity.”
Imagine being told that you are the enemies in the house; imagine your people being told to vacate their ancestral lands and villages or be considered terrorists; imagine the scorched earth policy and military operations in our villages that have spared no one, not even elderly women and young children; just imagine being made to feel like a second class citizen in the country of your birth. These are the stone-cold and brutal facts of today and living conditions in which we are forced to somehow survive.
On the basis of these reprehensible and humiliating conditions, Southern Cameroonian leaders have sought, on multiple occasions over the years, to engage in peaceful dialogue with Cameroonian authorities. We have been consistently refused this opportunity. Over the due course of time, our people – myself included – realized that we were simply victims of another broken promise and the signs of impending disaster were manifest.
Our hopes were dashed and many of our leaders, both political and civic, were thrown illegally into jail. Protests had failed. Attempts at good-faith dialogue also failed. We were stymied. We were beaten. And we were humiliated in the process. We thus came to the realization that collectively we had no other alternative except that of preparing for direct confrontation, whereby we would present our very bodies as a means of laying our case before the conscience of the international community.
Put simply, the people of Southern Cameroons have lost faith in the Cameroon experiment – it is indeed an incurable disease. Paul Biya and his regime have ruthlessly cracked down on our peaceful people – our mothers, fathers and children alike – with a ferocious barbarity. War has been declared on our people. This is all to remind onlookers and readers that we did not move irresponsibly into direct confrontation with authorities in Cameroon. We have always advocated for a peaceful resolution to the root causes of this crisis. However, Biya and his regime thought otherwise, determining that violence can be the solution.
Never again can we, the people of Southern Cameroons, afford to live with the narrow and institutionalized status of second-class citizens – certainly not in the land of our ancestors.
Today, the winds of freedom and liberty beckon to your divine conscience to tell your governments and your elected representatives worldwide: Let my people go! Support our democratic aspirations. This struggle has gone beyond that of individuals like me willing to pay the ultimate price for the freedom of our people. Join our struggle for human decency and the battle for respect of our bodies, hearts and minds, our traditions and values. The struggle for the complete independence of Southern Cameroons is your struggle. Please, stand with us.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.
At only 26, William Elong has already written his name in the book of African geniuses by launching the first drone made in Cameroon. William Elong created this feat by launching the first civilian drone service made in Cameroon.
The promoter of the Cameroonian startup Will & Brothers and Algo Drone, whose holding company is based in Germany, wants to challenge the giants of the sector in the international sky. To achieve this, the young entrepreneur who graduated in strategy and economic intelligence from the Paris School of War announced last January that the startup had raised of 2 million euros, a little over 1.3 billion CFA francs in funding.
No Degree In Robotics
William Elong was categorical when he spoke with the French online magazine, Sputnik on the sidelines of the week digital innovation in Yaoundé recently, that he had no previous background in robotics.
“I have absolutely no degree in robotics or embedded system,’’ he said. ‘‘I did business studies instead. However, I worked for companies in the security sector for a few years: Nexter (a manufacturer of armored vehicles) where I was an economic intelligence consultant and Thales Cameroon that offers cyber security services. It is through these field experiences in the field of security that I understood what were the issues related to the issue of drones and the management of satellite data; which allowed me to start my own business.
When it comes to evoking his passion for robotics, William Elong said that:
“It’s like asking someone who loves the piano where his passion for the piano comes from. Sincerely, I do not know. The environment maybe, because I had a lot of chances to be interested very early in everything related to robotics. It was done alone. I would say its innate.“
The well-nourished passion allowed Elong to embark on entrepreneurship as early as 2015. To make his ambition happen, he created Will & Brothers, a startup specialized in economic intelligence and specialized technological innovation; then Drone Africa to realize his dream of developing drones 100% Cameroonian.
“Apart from the Startup Will and Brothers, there is another named Algo Drone which was originally called Drone Africa. It has become a company present in several countries. So we set up an office in Germany, which allowed us to reach Europe and not just focus on Africa, because we think the global market is large, “he said.
Thanks to the creation of these two structures, William Elong finally realized his dream of developing the Drone Africa app: launching the first civilian drone service in Cameroon. This innovation earned him a place as one of the most formidable African geniuses. In 2016, he was among the top 30 most promising young African entrepreneurs, in a ranking published by the famous American magazine Forbes.
“Drone Africa is a team work made up of young engineers recruited from some of the Faculties of Industrial Engineering in Douala and others in Yaounde. It is gets a lot of self-learning through lessons available on Youtube and Open Source. From this workforce and our skills, we have embarked on a production phase. We also knew a lot of failures, but we got up and today our service offer is functional, “he said.
The drone surveillance service offered by William Elong is increasingly adopted in various sectors of activity in Cameroon, particularly in agriculture, tourism, communication, meteorology, defense or mapping.
“More than 80% of our activity is carried out with institutional actors. For example, farmers who want to do mapping on several hectares with the drone. Others solicit us for the promotion of tourist sites. We have covered sites of some stages of the African Cup of Nations in Cameroon. I can mention the Olembe stadium, which we shot during the construction. We also have clients in Congo or Senegal. In Africa the solicitations are going well, “he said.
Concerning the components of his devices, the promoter however specified that all the parts are not manufactured in Cameroon.
“I am often asked if the components of my drones are made in Cameroon. No, of course. Even when you buy your phone made in France all components are not manufactured in France. We have components that come from different suppliers around the world and sometimes assembly is done in Cameroon. The important point is the know-how that we sell to our customers, “he reassured.
”The size of the market and the scale of the needs in Africa are elements that have attracted our first funders”
But William Elong is also an ace of crowdfunding. To succeed in these different challenges, Will & Brothers was able to mobilize $ 200,000 from various investors at the launch of his project. In January 2019, the young entrepreneur managed to raise 2 million euros (1.3 billion CFA francs) of funds announced in early 2018. Funds that come mainly from foreign investors even if William would have liked more involvement of Cameroonian partners
“I submitted my project to investment funds that could be interested in our sector of activity. It works pretty well. Unfortunately, we have very few local investors. Too bad. The size of the market and the scale of the needs in Africa are elements that have attracted our first funders and still attracting today, “he told Sputnik
Among the difficulties encountered by the young entrepreneur in the development of his drone and artificial intelligence services is the newness of this technology in Cameroon.
“Given that we are specialized in a high-tech sector like artificial intelligence and drones, the general public has a hard time really understanding what we are doing. To fight against this basic incomprehension, we organize information and awareness workshops to demystify the subject. Because of the technical complexity, we are often faced with misinformation. Each time, we have to go back over certain points to better enlighten them and make them understand,’’he said.
With this local experience, William Elong is now eyeing the international sky.
“We are actively preparing for the conquest of the international market with our drones. However, there are other areas of activity that we are aiming to explore. I can speak in particular about Finetech, it is an area that interests us particularly, cybersecurity especially. Because there is only one step between drones, data transmission and cybersecurity issues, “he said.
Besides his many activities, this geek also works to share his experience with young people in Cameroon.
“We accompany young people to encourage them to start their own businesses. In this sense we have set up an association called “Cameroon Flying Lab”, an association that promotes robotics among young people through actions in schools, universities and others. I can also talk about the “Phoenix Lab” a non-profit organization based in Douala that offers support to young entrepreneurs who are looking for capital, “he said.
As he continues his rise to conquer the international market, William Elong firmly believes that artificial intelligence can contribute to the digital transformation of Africa and its development.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.
One of the principal tasks of the Africa Forum (www.AfricaForum.org) of former African Heads of State and Government and other African leaders is to support the African Union as it works to guide our Continent to achieve the Objectives detailed in the Constitutive Act.
In this context, the Forum has done its best to follow the evolving but troubling situation in the Republic of Cameroon.
In this regard, it has had the privilege to convey some of its views and suggestions to His Excellency President Paul Biya of Cameroon. The Forum looks forward to further contact with President Biya on this matter.
In the meantime, the Forum has thought it very necessary that it should take all necessary steps further to inform itself about the situation in the Republic of Cameroon in as comprehensive a manner as possible.
To achieve this objective the Forum will, therefore, act to convene a Symposium on Cameroon to be held possibly in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia or any other African country which will agree with the Forum to provide a venue for the Symposium.
The Forum will, therefore, take steps without delay to contact a broad spectrum of the people of Cameroon and invite these to attend what the Forum intends must be an inclusive and open dialogue.
The Forum is convinced that the Symposium will help greatly to empower it the better to assist the Government and people of Cameroon as they work to address the challenges facing this sister African country.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.
