Prof Mbarika on Cameroon Calling

The ICT for Africa conference in Cameroon focused on showcasing the innovations of African youth and women in information and communication technologies. The goal was to move beyond just talking about these technologies and find ways to fund and commercialize them. The conference had a wide scope, with over 30 different technologies showcased. Former heads of state, President Obasanjo of Nigeria and President Amina of Mauritius, gave speeches remotely. The ICT University, led by Professor Victor Mbarika, is helping these young entrepreneurs by providing funding and collaborating with them to co-own their businesses. The university's students are job creators, with many starting their own successful businesses in various fields. The tuition at the ICT University is affordable, and scholarships are also provided. the 15th edition of the ICT for Africa conference that was heard in Cameroon for the very first time. The initiator of the conference, US-based Cameroonian-born professor Victor Mbarika, in the following interview conducted by George Kellogg, first indicated that the event was one with a difference. Many academic conferences are boring. We have a bunch of old professors come talk big grammar, big concepts, big policies, and so on. But this particular one was very practical. It was about the youth and about women involved in information and communication technologies. The youth and women showcasing things that they have invented, computer software, computer hardware, robots, et cetera, and they come to showcase it to the world. And these are youth not from America, not from Europe. These are youth from Africa, youth from Cameroon, women and youth from this country showcasing great innovations that they are creating. So the peculiarity was that we went beyond talking to practice, and in addition now, looking for ways to get them funded in order to get these discoveries, these technologies that they have developed, into the market. When you develop like a young man developing a robot, the robot is ready. How do you get that such that anyone in the world can purchase that technology coming from Cameroon? Developing great apps that can be used for day-to-day activities of either individuals, the government, companies, businesses, et cetera. They have developed these technologies, but how do you get it from just the media talking and saying, oh, these kids have developed these things, to actually getting it in the hands of people? Many times we've heard stories of young people that have developed even model planes. Model cars, or some instrument that can help with heart disease or healthcare. But it always ends just with the story in the media. How do you get these things to go beyond just that media attention they get immediately to actually getting it in the market, getting it functional, getting it where it can be commercialized? This is what ICT for Africa is about. And the problem is that many people expect that the government should be the one to do it. No, it's businessmen and women that have to sponsor these things in order to move from just how great these technologies are to the hands of humans for their day-to-day living. How wide was the scope of the exhibition? We had people just from all over. There were over 30 different specific technologies in terms of wideness of the exhibition that were exposed at the conference. It was face-to-face. People were present at the Hotel Montaigne. Thousands of people followed the conference online, and which is the power of technology today. And even two former heads of state gave their speeches using the power of distance communication. President Obasanjo, former president of Nigeria, and President Amina, former president of Mauritius, gave powerful keynote speeches from their respective countries. And it was really, really wonderful. They were laying emphasis on giving a chance for the youth in Africa in general to excel. We know the government of Cameroon has put an emphasis on seeing youth succeeding. So we're just continuing in that particular vision that the government of this country is already pushing to see youth involved and not depending on employment by the government, employment by businesses, but to be able to develop their own businesses using different information technology opportunities. So that is really what this was all about. AI was really high in the agenda. And again, just the same like what I said earlier, going beyond just talking about the importance of AI to actually showcasing these young people, showcase actual practical AI applications that are used for day-to-day living. That was the amazing thing about this conference. It was not just saying AI is important. We showed AI used in journalism. We showed AI in agriculture. We showed AI in healthcare. We showed AI in just about any domain you can think of in human life. They were showcased at this particular conference and we're working on funding to making sure it goes beyond showcasing to actually becoming commercialized. What were some of the key problems which the startupers presented during the conference? And how are you, the initiator of the conference, going to be of help to them? Yeah, as founder and president of the ICT University, we never look outside for other people to do things. We do it ourselves. The number one challenge of these young people, you know it already, they don't have the funding to move their great ideas to actual commercialization. I keep using the word commercialization because they need to be a way they can market these technologies that they are developing and become self-sufficient. So that is where we step in as ICT University and try to help them provide funding as joint businesses between ICT University and these young people. Why do we say joint businesses? We don't want to sit here and pretend like ICT University is just donating money for some young man or young woman to develop their business. We don't do that. We collaborate with them. We co-own the business that they want to launch, thereby making us and these young people having a vested interest. Well, somebody will listen to this and they're, eh, bro, you're making use of the knowledge of these young people. We are opening up. We are challenging every businessman and woman in Africa and beyond Africa to come, get these youth, do joint business with them, so that these apps, these software, these hardware that they are developing can go in the hands of the users and the commercial. Professor Victor Mbareka, you talked about two former heads of state being part of the ICT for Africa conference. Some people want to know how these two became part of that initiative. Well, by the grace of God, the ICT University has had great attention from many, many governments around the world, especially governments within Africa, and we've had a lot of great support from the government of Nigeria. I want to thank them publicly for this because they've supported a lot of our initiatives in Nigeria, including donating land to the ICT University. Same with the government of Uganda, et cetera. We've had great support, not forgetting the tremendous support the ICT University has had from the head of state of Cameroon, His Excellency Paul Villa, and his administration, given that whatever we have done and called upon the government to support us, to back us, they have done it. The last visit of President Obama and just physically in the country, we had a lot of support from the government. This time, he could not make it here physically, so he did his presentation over Zoom, and it worked out very well. Same with the president of Mauritius that I'm so thankful to her, Dr. Amina, who, by the way, is not just a politician, she's a university professor. She gave an amazing talk, but she had to do it online because of some health reasons that she was facing towards the conference. So we are really honored at ICT University to have this great attention from many, many governments around the world, but even more so from our government right here in Cameroon. From the way you talk, one gets away with the impression that in a context in which many university graduates in Cameroon are job seekers, the products of the ICT University are some sort of job creators, but is that the reality? Our students, we are proud that the majority of them, they don't care to work for anybody. They own their own businesses when they finish. In fact, let me tell you the interesting thing. We have several of our former students that are even suppliers, are even service providers now to the university and to some other businesses we do, and they are making good money. We have students that are sitting here in Cameroon managing databases of companies abroad in the developed world. I have my colleagues in America, university professors, several, that have called me and sub-contracted the development of their website in America to students of ICT University. This young man, Abdul Aziz, is developing websites for professors in America and getting paid for it. It's happening now, and they are making a lot of money. More money than any company can pay them, so they're doing well. We have young ladies that have graduated with software engineering degrees that own their own software development companies, like Selma and Vee, doing wonderful work all around the world with the knowledge she has received in the software development area. We have this young lady that has developed an IntelliBRA, a bra, a breastwear, that when women put on, it can help detect cancer at the early stages. That is being worked on to be commercialized. This young lady will be a multi-millionaire in dollars. She does not need a job from anybody in Cameroon or in Africa. She is at the verge of being totally independent because her innovation is being invited in France. She just came back from Dubai, presenting what she has done in an area of cancer that is a growing area. So it's reality that our students are not job seekers. They create jobs. Don't get me wrong. Some of them go work for other people. We have former students with the United Nations, the World Bank, et cetera, and they are doing well. Unfortunately, tuition appears to be prohibitive. Ha ha ha ha ha ha. Good soup, no cheap. No, that's what we say, right? No, but in reality, our tuition is very affordable. I mean, a student that goes to Sacred Heart, Our Lady of Lourdes, or Sacred Baptist College, tuition at ICT University is not too far from what they pay there. So no, it's not prohibitive at all. And by the way, we give a lot of scholarships. You may know I lost my dad recently, but even in his honor, before he passed, we've been giving scholarships, called the George Barika Scholarship, as well as the ICT University Presidential Scholarship, which we've been giving. Like this young lady that developed the telegram talking about, she has been at ICT University fully funded. But we can't give scholarships to everybody, to be fair, too. The ICT for Africa Conference in its 15th edition held in Yaounde, Cameroon. Yes. Where will the next edition be held? For 15 years. We've been all over Africa, but I really had a dream that this conference should come and stay in Cameroon. So moving forward, I have convinced the Board of Trustees for the ICT for Africa Conference to only be in Cameroon every year. We'll be doing it in Cameroon. Let Cameroon be the center of attention for ICT. That's my dream. Why should we always be the ones flying other parts of the world in order to do this great technology? People are beginning to come from all over the world to Cameroon to learn ICT. Through the ICT University, through ICT for Africa Conference, that has been a personal dream of Victor Mbarika. We have some of the smartest people in the world. People should come learn from us in Cameroon. We should not always be the ones to go abroad. This is the abroad for many, many students coming from Europe, from America, from many different African countries. Cameroon has become the abroad because of what we want to do and are doing. So ICT for Africa will be permanently in Cameroon moving forward. For those of us who were not able to take part in this year's edition, that's in the 15th edition, what should they do to be part of the 16th edition, which, as you say, will still be held in Cameroon? Yeah, I'm calling on all part of us. If you have a good idea, just go to our website, ictuniversity.edu.cm for Cameroon, or go to ictforafrica.org. You'll see all our contacts. Write to us, and we would like to showcase what we do. Next year, there will be some even greater competition with millions of dollars in potential funding. All we want to do is for them to come with their great ideas. Let's talk business. We are not giving out free money. We are looking at them as potential business partners to do joint ventures with us funding it. That is what the 16th edition will do next year. US-based Cameroonian-born professor, Victor Mbarika, interviewed by George Kennan.