DOUALA, CAMEROON – Energy & Associates, a startup that contributes to reliable and secure access to electricity, as well as to the development of energy management in Cameroon and Central Africa, captured first prize at the National Finals of the Entrepreneurship World Cup competition held recently in Douala, Cameroon.
Thierry Founda Onambele, Founder of Energy & Associates, advances to the next round of the global competition against national winners from 200 countries.
He will receive his prize alongside the other three first finalists during Global Entrepreneurship Week in November in Cameroon.
Energy & Associates is an electrical engineering firm specializing in photovoltaic solar solutions. Its aim is to solve the problems of access to electrical energy for individuals and professionals.
In preparation for the EWC Global Finals, Thierry Fouda Onambele will participate in a Bootcamp which features virtual training and mentoring sessions targeted to their company’s current stage and growth trajectory.
Energy & Associates emerged victorious from a pool of 80 contestants who applied – each receiving access to free virtual training services and up to $25,000 in perks to help them take their venture to the next level.
"The diversity of the profiles among project leaders and the variety of startups in competition greatly complicated the task of the jury this year” said Olivier Ngwe, Cameroon EWC National Organizer.
As a Global Finalist, Energy & Associates will compete for a share of USD 1 million in cash prizes. The top 100 Global Finalists will receive $100,000 worth of in-kind services and support from service providers such as AWS, Freshworks, Oracle, Hubspot, Stripe and Segment.
Global fnalists also gain automatic entry into the GEN Starters Club, an invitation-only community of talented founders from around the world.
Other fnalists in the EWC Cameroon National Finals included:
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Hannibal Incubator from Yaoundé, a startup that is an African platform for online courses
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Cameroon eTranslate from Bamenda, a startup offering mobile app that currently offers 150 daily phrases displayed in English, French and the mother tongue, arranged in 13 categories and in 50+ languages
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AI Technologies for Africa from Douala, a startup that engaged in applying Artificial Intelligence in other domains in order to address problems in Africa
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Doro Health Service from Nkwen, a startup that provides quality healthcare, authentic medication and medical equipment access to underserved patients, hospitals and communities in sub saharan Africa
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SMACS Africa from Bamenda, a startup that is a digital marketplace for technicians and artisans in the construction and maintenance service industry in Africa
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Secure Online Market from Bafoussam, a startup that secures online commerce (selling and buying of products)
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Sama Care (S7) from Bamenda, a startup that builds its strength from the Gender Bias and the Devaluation of Care Work Theory
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Inkare from Douala, a startup that insures your relatives and yourself by during simple tasks in your location or region and get rewarded with free insurance licenses
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Infinite Energy from Douala, a startup that comprises of building a hydroelectric power station that does require a running river for it to function
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Leave No One Behind from Yaoundé, a startup that is creating sustainable tourism development and equal opportunity for all
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Royal Bio Industry from Buea, a startup that is into waste management in an industrial scale
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BIO WATER from Maroua, a startup that is involved in the production and marketing of alkaline cooling biofilters and ceramic filters
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ALMALIA FINANCES from Douala, a startup that is a neobank
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Restore Africa Group from Douala, a startup that is a web, mobile platform that will allow all used oil users to locate a Focal Point of the place where they are to drop off their used oil
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B-Creative from Yaoundé, a startup that reduces unemployment for youths, housewives who do not have a career, and the less privileged by providing training for them to be able to create jobs and fend for themselves
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Callbox Marketing from Douala, a startup that takes advantage of the unexploited potential of the Callboxers (sellers located in crossroads and intersections)
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Kids Transportation Service from Douala, a startup that offers safe, flexible and reliable student Transportation
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Adele Reproductive Health Foundation from Douala, a startup that offers healthcare services to both individuals businesses, delivering healthcare services at the comfort of their homes
Judges for the competition were:
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Vanessa Ongmetana, Head of CDPME, GICAM
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Maxime Ndoum, Business development manager Tech & Services, BUSINESS FRANCE
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Stéphane OND, Director of SMEs, MINPMEESA
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Cyrille Schouame, Head of incubation, MINPMEESA
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Jean-Patrick Ketcha, Vice-President, KMER TECH
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Cédric Moutchebong, General secretary, KMER TECH
The EWC 2022 Cameroon National Finals were organized by Jokkolabs Douala in partnership with KMER TECH, CDPME of GICAM, BUSINESS FRANCE, and sponsored by the Cameroonian Ministry of SMEs, MINPMEESA.
Since launching in 2019, the competition has attracted 400,000 registrations from 200 countries and connected founders with over US$3M in cash prizes and another US$256M worth of perks and free support and services.
Global Finalists will face off against one another in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia next year.
EWC is an initiative led by the Global Entrepreneurship Network and Monsha’at, with support from a collection of national and global partners including One Valley, The Global Education and Leadership Foundation (tGELF), Entrepreneurs’ Organization, KAUST and Startup Genome.