How Cameroonian Entrepreneur Rebecca Enonchong Built a Global Tech Company

One of the few names that come up when the subject of African women in tech pops up is Rebecca Enonchong, a Cameroonian tech entrepreneur, who has earned her place as one of Africa’s Amazons in the ecosystem. 

In Africa’s nascent male-dominated tech ecosystem, women remain largely underrepresented. According to a Mckinsey Women Matter Africa report, in 2016, only 5% of tech company CEOs were women and 29% of senior managers were women. 

The report also revealed that only 36% of promotions in organisations go to women in Africa.

 A recent report by TechCabal on Nigerian Women in Tech showed that the percentage of women participants in tech is increasing by the year. However, the current number is a far cry from what is possible.

Amid issues around gender inequality in the workplace and how it discourages women from thriving, there is a tiny handful of incredible women who are launching and building successful, innovative tech companies, setting new standards, and earning their place at the boardroom. 

Rebecca is one of these women who innovating and exploiting ideas, products, and services to produce dynamic businesses. 

Early Years

Growing up in Cameroon under a dignified and remarkable family upbringing was an incredible foundation for Rebecca.  

Her father, Dr. Henry Ndifor Enonchong, was a well-known barrister in Cameroon who had helped create the Federal Cameroon Bar Association and its successor, the Cameroon Bar Association.

The family moved to the US in 1982. While studying, She took up a job selling door-to-door newspaper subscriptions from the age of 15. She later became a manager at the same company at the age of 17. 

Young Enonchong attended the Catholic University of America, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science degree in Economics. 

After her education, Enonchong went on to work for some organizations including Inter-American Development Bank (IaDB) and Oracle Corporation.

Career Journey

Having worked as an accountant during college and gaining exposure in that industry, Enonchong took up a job selling accounting software at an Egghead software while working on her master’s degree in international political economics. Customers interested in accounting would wait until Enonchong was on duty to shop, she recalls – a business idea was born.

Enonchong proudly describes herself as a tech fanatic and has been since the day she first touched a computer. “It’s an amazing tool and opened the whole world to me, pre-Internet,” she said.

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In 1999, Enonchong founded the company AppsTech, a Bethesda, Maryland-based global provider of enterprise application solutions.

AppsTech is a leading global provider of enterprise application solutions, offering a full spectrum of products and services to serve enterprise software requirements…

Read Rebecca’s full story and more amazing features like this in our latest issue below. Find it on page 38.