At the head of Telcar, Cameroon’s leader in the marketing of cocoa beans, the manager has a fortune which was estimated in 2016 at 150 billion CFA francs. For Puissance237, she agreed to lift part of the veil that covers her universe.
Located in Bonabéri, in the heart of the industrial zone of Douala, the offices of Telcar Cocoa Ltd are as sober and discreet as the hostess. From the moment you are welcomed, the personality of this imperial woman is felt – not without subtlety. To visitors who announce themselves in French, the security guards respond in English. A way of remembering where Kate Kanyi-Tometi, married to Fotso, comes from, an English speaker from the South West, in this country where the use of one or the other of the two official languages is an object of identity representation.
English is therefore required in these stylish offices where white and wood dominate, and where a delicate scent of artificially maintained cocoa is diffused so that no one forgets the reason for being of Telcar Cocoa Ltd, the company which made her the richest woman in Cameroon.
Barely installed in her immense office filled with sculptures and paintings, she immediately warns us: “I will not talk about myself. I don’t give interviews. I never wanted to be in the spotlight. You are free to write your article but I will not help you. » She even refuses to tell us in which country she completed her higher education and then launches into a long indictment against the emigration of young people to Europe or elsewhere. According to her, biographies citing prestigious European or American universities help to encourage young people to leave.
The truth is, Kate Fotso is not just discreet. She is secret. But if she is reluctant to confide, her world speaks for her. A door opens to reveal the slender figure of a young woman in casual clothing. She entered as if at home, without knocking, and whispered in the ear of the boss of Telcar Cocoa Ltd before disappearing.
It is his only daughter and close collaborator, Itaka, in his forties, member of the inner circle of the Cameroonian queen of agribusiness. She supports her mother even if, at the same time, she develops a company specializing in events.
By KS
