At 24, Lucie Carmen DJOKEN, Founder of MBIANG Oil

It's no secret that Cameroon's development will inevitably depend on industrialization in general, and agro-industry in particular. Cameroon is a country rich in raw materials, but the real challenge remains processing them to create added value.

We went to meet a 24-year-old young Cameroonian woman who dared to innovate in the agro-industry field. Her name is Lucie Carmen DJOKEN, holder of a bachelor's degree in computer science and networking from the University of the Mountains (UDM), and founder of MBIANG Oil, a company specializing in producing cold-pressed peanut oil.

Introducing your company, Mbiang Oil

Mbiang Oil was founded in August 2018. My brother helped me set up the company Mbiang Oil. The name Mbiang comes from the Yemba language, one of the languages spoken in western Cameroon. "Biang" means "peanuts" in that language, and the "M" comes from "mevet," which means oil - hence Mbiang, meaning peanut oil.

Mbiang Oil is a range of different natural peanut-based products. This includes extra-virgin, cold-pressed peanut oil with no added chemical additives, as well as other derived products such as spreads, peanut pastes, candies, porridges, and cakes for children.

How it all started

I ended up in the food industry out of compassion and a desire to help those around me. It was while searching for solutions that I got into producing extra-virgin, cold-pressed peanut oil. The goal is to offer Cameroonian and foreign consumers an oil that, beyond its unique taste, guarantees healthy, nourishing food.

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The major challenges faced at Mbiang Oil

When you're just starting out, it's difficult to be credible, and that's one of the difficulties we faced. Every day we had to try to overcome people's skepticism due to the high price relative to quality; we had to explain to them why Mbiang peanut oil is a bit more expensive than other oils on the market. On top of that, the cost of raw materials fluctuates and is often very high. Finally, we have to meet the challenge of selling despite a distribution system that isn't yet fully in place.

Any support?

To launch industrial-scale production, we turned to investors on the Gwanxi Invest platform, a funding method that has become very popular in Cameroon. The fundraising goal is set at a minimum of 20 million CFA francs, with the aim of increasing production given market demand, and equipping ourselves with new, cutting-edge equipment to keep up with regulations.