Information Technologies have been transforming lives and business environments prompting President Paul Biya to urge the government to join the trend.

The evolution from ‘information economy’ to notions like ‘network society’, ‘network economy’ and ‘digital economy’, are all names that depict trends which the advent of the computer, Internet and telephone have brought into the business environment, leading to new ways of trade transactions. Thus, online business has opened several opportunities in situations where the infrastructure exists.  

Basically, the issue of digital economy has to do with business transactions that depend on the new Information and Communication Technologies with the advantage that it overcomes boundaries and operates across countries and continents; even if there exists rules and regulations that continue to appear inadequate due to the fast-moving nature of the technological environment.
President Paul Biya sounded the clarion call on 31 December 2015 when he urged government to facilitate the existence of the Digital Economy in the country so as to encourage the much-needed economic boast. “We must rapidly bridge the digital economy and development gap. This is a genuine growth driver as well as niche for new jobs for our youth. We should make the most of it. In its organization, the Government will give this sector all the attention it deserves.” Such a commitment by the Head of State could not be timelier, given the benefits that accrue from online transactions through the World Wide Web which is variously called the Global Village, Information Super Highway, etc.  But, what are the openings in the country for youth to take advantage of digital economy?

Structures Required

The apparent successes recorded by mobile telephone companies in the country point to the chances that are available for viable digital economy. Adequate online infrastructure for the transfer of electronic data in a secure and reliable channel remains vital for ICTs to improve the livelihood of the population. Given that those who do business online do not need to meet physically, the role of telecommunication equipment that inspires confidence and a sense of efficiency remains capital.

Supporting infrastructure like hardware, software, telecoms, networks, etc., which help in leveraging online operations have for long been evasive to many in the country, given the slow pace at which Cameroon has embraced the electronic world. Yet, the masses need to surmount the sense of vagueness that such trendy computer language continues to conjure.  

Also, e-business can be seen as how business is conducted or any process that an organization conducts over computer-mediated networks. E-commerce, that is, transfer of goods, for example when a book is sold online, hardly got down in the common psyche in the country when complicated platforms like the social media and Internet search came along to make matters even more complicated. Yet, breaking down such concepts to render them popular through accessible infrastructure could serve as an economic live-wire, especially to youth who are taking much interest in the sector.

Cameroonian Context

The enactment, of Law N° 2010/012 of 21 December 2010 on Cyber Security and Cyber Criminality and Law N° 2010/013 on Electronic Communication in the country came as a step in the right direction since it now sets the bases for online business deals. Nefarious acts by con men who often tarnish the country’s image by duping foreign partners online are already being checked in Cameroon thanks to the regulatory business environment that augurs well for the digital economy.

Another welcome relief came from the 3G licences given to mobile telephone companies in the country in 2014 and 2015. The move creates more facilities and possibilities for better services to users even if such prospects are still being questioned by members of the public. The impatience by MTN and Orange Cameroon to migrate to the 4G network may appear controversial now because of the ambiguous context in the country, but once such network facilities become fully functional, the benefits will be immeasurable. Electronic data transfer that the 4G offers to customers can only be good business for the population and the sooner the country gets to that level, the better for the Head of State’s call for a digital economy in Cameroon.

Existing Opportunities

Mobile money transfer and the payment of some bills online must have given some Cameroonians a foretaste of the advantages that the digital world offers.  Interminable queues to pay electricity bills are fast becoming things of the past and money transfer companies now operate even in remote villages, given the right conditions and  these are only a few of the opportunities that those with good business acumen stand to gain from the digital world.

Whether it is called Internet Economy, New Economy, or Web Economy, the fact that one can sit at home, make millions online and the money transferred into the bank account of the concerned, may sound far-fetched to many Cameroonians, but the possibility exists and is real.  Since the advent of the optical fibre in Cameroon, thanks to the Chad-Cameroon Pipeline, many observers think that the country is yet to make maximum use of the infrastructure and the fact that President Biya called on government to help the population diversify through the digital economy could just be that click for things to happen online, enabling many to make money.