#WCW, MEET CAMpreneur, CEO & CO-FOUNDER of BeGREEN, CYNTHIA LEUWAT TCHOUTA

Posted By admin on Jul 13, 2016 | 0 comments

Posted By IRepCamer on Jul 13, 2016 | 0 comments

Hello people…

Today’s #WCW #3 is the CEO and Co-Founder of BeGreen and a MTN Boost Your Brain Competition Winner!!

Please tell us about yourself

I am Tchouta Leuwat Cynthia, born on the 3rd of August 1993 in Yaounde. I am a native of the West Region of Cameroon precisely from Bagangte. I did my primary school in Kathy Nursery and Primary School bonamoussadi, 7 years of secondary schools in Sacred Heart College Douala where I had my GCE Ordinary and Advanced level. After my Advanced Level. I proceeded to the Catholic University Institute of Buea where I studied Chemical Engineering. My Entrepreneurial spirit emerged during my education in the Catholic university Institute of Buea where I did different projects like production of bio-briquettes from paper waste, production of an eco-friendly detergent powder and finally provision of affordable energy and fertilizers to the rural Bagangte community which I used to apply for the MTN Boost your brain competition in 2015. In May 2015, I was selected among the top 100 Entrepreneurs in the MTN Boost your brain competition. The 100 selected Entrepreneurs did a three days training on Leadership. After I had finished my studies in Chemical Engineering, I started working on a new project which is the provision of natural products made from Moringa and cocoa in order to fight against cardiovascular diseases. On the 2ND of June 2016, I received an email from MTN informing me that my project had been selected among the top 20 projects and proceeded to showcase my project in front of a jury on the 11th June at Institut Universitaire St Jerome in Douala to stand a chance to win 5,000,000CFA. I was selected among the top 5 best and I was awarded 5,000,000FCFA to fund my start up…So here I am!!

About your start up/Business

BeGreen is located in Douala and focuses on 2 main areas: The supply of natural products and the supply of affordable energy and cheap fertilizers (now primarily to the Bagangté Community). Our natural products made from the Moringa plant and cocoa to fight against cardiovascular diseases. We transform household waste into affordable electrical energy and fertilizers.

What is the story behind your business/venture? When & How did it all start?

When I was a child I used to travel a lot to the village, during the journey I used to see many trees on the road but presently when travelling to the village I observe that the number of trees have greatly reduce. I asked myself “why?” I discovered that villagers cut down trees to use them as wood for lighting since they cannot afford paying expensive electricity bills. In order to reduce deforestation, the BeGreen team solved this problem by coming up with a prototype of a bio-digester which converts household waste into electrical energy and fertilizers. Secondly, statistics of World health organization states that 17 million people die yearly due to cardiovascular diseases. BeGreen team discovered that cocoa and moringa plant normally called miracle plant contains substances like cardiac glycosides that treat and prevent cardiovascular diseases. So my team and I are valorizing these plants by making natural products from them which we supply in the ten regions of Cameroon.

What are some of the challenges you have faced and how have you overcome them?

After my graduation from the Catholic University Institute of Buea, I did an internship, but it was almost impossible for me to simultaneously manage another career and my start-up. So I had to quit the internship and dedicate myself to nurturing BeGreen to success. As a new Entrepreneur, I had to start from scratch which was not easy. I had to start networking, look for possible investors and apply for competitions in order to generate funds. Building the right team for BeGreen was stressful and difficult. It was not easy to find the right colleagues who fill certain roles and also who shared my vision.

Tell us about any upcoming projects?

I am focused on developing BeGreen and achieving our goals.

About the MTN Boost Your Brain Competition

The MTN Boost Your Brain Competition is an open platform for young aspiring entrepreneurs, where each entrepreneur is to register and submit his or her entrepreneurship project and try to win 5million FCFA to support the project. After I had registered and submitted my project, I was selected among the 100 Entrepreneurs who had the opportunity to do a three days training on Leadership that was in May 2015. I was selected among top 20 projects defended my project infront of a jury on the 11th June at Institut Universitaire St Jerome in Douala on June 11th. With the best pitch I had ever delivered, I was selected among the top 5 best and I was awarded 5 million FCFA to fund my start up.

Through the MTN Boost your brain competition, I’ve learned how to show case myself best, I’ve understood my strengths and weaknesses and I’ve built my network with others who share the same values as I do.

Any last words for aspiring Entrepreneurs?

Never give up, the beginning is always the toughest part.

Follow BeGreen on Facebook here