Friday, November 1, 2013

Njorku Inc.: A true brand made in Cameroon

 The 5th edition of Barcamp-Cameroon was held last Saturday 26th October 2013 at the University Institute of the Diocese campus in the small town of Buea (UIDB). This was the first time Cameroon’s premier digital and Tech event was organized in the town which harbors the second highest peak in Africa. IT entrepreneurs, enthusiasts, journalist, students etc. from all over Cameroon and the world clamored the campus premises to participate in the numerous presentations on offer. Njorku Inc. was very much in attendance with Mambe Churchill Nanje, and I the newly recruited Andre Raoul being part of the happy campers.  

Njorku Inc.: A true brand made in Cameroon
Under the theme “Made in Cameroon”, this year’s Barcamp-Cameroon sought to promote innovative tech ideas borne in Cameroon. Notable local digitech brands like Bantou Telecom, Wasamundi and our very own Njorku Inc. created a convenient techie atmosphere for aspiring brands and entrepreneurs to feed on. Our www.njorku.com platform needed no formal introduction and was once again the focus of some discussions during the one daylong event.  Our pan African brand has its humble beginnings from Cameroon, with its founder also from and based in Cameroon. We are an example of a small idea “made in Cameroon” being inspired by dedicated entrepreneurs with a big vision to make a change. The name njorku (elephant) and our brand logo were inspired by local Cameroonian traditions, and we keep our brand mantra around our Cameroonian roots.

Njorku Inc.: A customer focused brand
It is worth mentioning the lack of proper market driven strategies amongst most Cameroonian startups. Most go after their lofty ideas without actually identifying the problem they wish to solve. We took time during the Barcamp to listen to the many great ideas on offer and always trying to give some advice in return. This clearly brought out our customer experience obsession; always ready to listen to www.njorku.com users and give career advices where applicable. This 2013 Barcamp-Cameroon edition was a great platform for us to talk about customer experience to our peers and make them see what we are doing to stand out in that domain. We emphasized on how such can be done within all budgets, with social media being the most affordable way to increase brand awareness.

So, what did Njorku Inc. learn from Barcamp Cameroon 2013?
A lot I’ll say. For me it was the first time I was here and I really enjoyed myself. I met great minds within Cameroon’s digitech industry and discussed brilliant ideas. For Njorku Inc. the Barcamp-Cameroon 2013 was special to say the least. We had newer connections, knew how to serve users of the njorku platform better, and got a few gifts along the way. We were so proud to experience the so many great ideas, made in Cameroon.