Innovating for Change: The Story of Mountain Hub in Cameroon

In this episode of the Gamers Change Lives podcast, host Tom Leonard interviews Martin Elonge, the director of Mountain Hub, a startup accelerator in Cameroon. They discuss the mission and programs of Mountain Hub, including ecosystem building, capacity building, and venture building. Martin explains the difference between startups and SMEs and emphasizes the importance of business skills for entrepreneurs. He also shares insights into the selection process at Mountain Hub and the role of the Mountain Angel Network in supporting startups. The episode concludes with information on how to connect with Mountain Hub online. Takeaways Mountain Hub is a startup accelerator in Cameroon that focuses on ecosystem building, capacity building, and venture building. Startups have the potential to scale and are often founded on technological advancements, while SMEs may rely more on physical infrastructure. Entrepreneurs at Mountain Hub receive support in various areas, including business development, mentorship, and investment readiness. Mountain Hub invests in startups through its Mountain Angel Network. Venture building encompasses the entire process of building a startup, from ideation to scaling. *  *  * Featured in this episode: Martin E-M. Elonge: is a Co-founder and Director of Research and Development at Mountain Hub and a Doctoral student in Mass Communications at the University of Buea, Cameroon. He focuses on interdisciplinary research and scholarship that embodies new media, information and communication technologies and the internet of things; society and security; e-governance; non-verbal communication processes; theory and methodology; art form communications, tech policy and entrepreneurship, and sustainable societies. In 2023, he participated in the Technology, Knowledge & Society Nineteenth International Conference at the University of Malta, Malta. Earlier in 2021, he lectured on Communication and Media Art (with a focus on International Journalism and Cross-Cultural studies) for the Marion Barry Summer Youth Employment Program at Jah Kente International, Washington D.C. He is the project manager for the Cameroon International Tech Summit (CITS). Martin is passionate about writing, both scientific and literary. He has co-authored three scientific journal articles and a book chapter. As a literary scholar, he has written over 500 poems, and numerous film and drama scripts, with two of his poems published in “Bearing Witness: Poems from a Land in Turmoil” (2020) – a poetry anthology, Spears Books, USA. Through his literary engagements, Martin participated in the ‘Literary Activism in Sub-Saharan Africa: Commons, Publics and Networks of Practice’ project with the University of Bristol, UK, for Kenya, Uganda, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Cote d’Ivoire. Martin is a Gold Medalist with the Duke of Edinburgh International Awards, UK – Cameroon, a certified Reuters Digital Journalist, and a certified policy analyst with Innovation for Policy Foundation on Entrepreneurship Policy in partnership with ECOSYSTEM BUILD, German Cooperation, and GIZ. Email: mailto:martin@mountainhub.africa LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinelonge/ Website: https://www.mountainhub.africa/ Podcast: https://riverside.fm/dashboard/studios/martins-studio-lmF5L/recordings?share-token=099aae3985471ce485a7 Twitter: https://twitter.com/MartinElonge Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/martinelonge/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MartinEMElonge YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mountainhubb *  *  * Please subscribe to our podcast wherever you are listening to this episode. Leave us a rating and a review if you like our content for others to discover what we are doing. And tell your friends! CONNECT WITH US ELSEWHERE: Visit our website at https://www.gamerschangelivespodcast.com/ to learn more about our program, our blog, and sign up for our emails to be notified of upcoming episodes. Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/GamersChangeLives  Twitter: https://twitter.com/thegclpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gamerschangelives/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8TRl42z9cbMyZMhcpNo0cw TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gamerschangelives PRODUCTION: Creator and host: Tom Leonard (USA) - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomeleonard/ Executive Producer: Reginald Nsowah (Ghana) - https://www.linkedin.com/in/reginald-nsowah-09352929/ ABOUT THE SHOW: Play Games. Create Jobs. Change Lives. This is a show about how to build an esports business from literally anywhere in the world where each week we showcase the journey of esports entrepreneurs and others to learn how they solved a particular problem that everyone will ultimately face. Thanks for listening to The Gamers Change Lives Podcast!