From Idea to Impact
What began as a simple idea for a careers and application service for IT graduates in Cameroon has grown into an established company with dozens of employees and international partnerships. In just one year since its founding, Camsol went from a tiny start-up with a single founder and five Cameroonian IT enthusiasts, to a holding company with three ventures and over 80 tech talents establishing themselves in the market.
How do you bridge a gap of 4,900 kilometres? By bringing people together. Nearly 5,000 km separate Cameroon and Germany - but Camsol is making that distance shrink, connecting two markets that have a lot to offer each other.
Why Cameroon?
Over a decade ago, the parents of our founder adopted a young Cameroonian girl named Lynn. Through exchanges with our founder’s new Cameroonian sister and working with the family charity (the Charity World Tour e.V.), the first insight into life in Cameroon was gotten.
Cameroon and Germany are almost equal in size, but the economic disparity is stark. GDP in 2021 was about $45 billion for Cameroon, versus $4.26 trillion for Germany. The average income in Cameroon ranges from only about 148 to 491 euros per month. The Charity World Tour e.V. focuses on protecting and supporting children and young people in Cameroon. At Camsol, we decided to continue that effort in our own way: “Solidarity, not Charity.”
Talent Is Everywhere, Opportunity Is Not
Despite cultural and political differences, we quickly discovered many things in common. Cameroon has just as many passionate tech geeks and IT lovers as Germany does. The big difference lies in opportunity. In Germany, demand for IT professionals keeps rising. In Cameroon, most IT graduates struggle to find any stable employment in their field.
Through a contact at the University of Buea, our founder pinned a note to a notice board in the IT department, offering to mentor students. We expected only a few responses. Instead, within days our inbox filled with over twenty messages from eager students. The enthusiasm was authentic and infectious.
Turning Boundaries into Bridges
Tobias ended up mentoring several students over months, helping them sign up for sponsored online courses. But not a single application to European companies led to a job offer. We needed a different path.
So we asked ourselves: “what if we create the opportunities that are missing?” We envisioned a way for talented graduates to keep learning in a safe, supportive work environment - one that would give them real project experience with fair pay. This was the spark that led to Camsol. Our idea was to found a company that would secure projects for clients in Europe and use the revenue to employ and train young IT talent in Cameroon. Even our name reflects this mission: “Camsol” = Cameroon + Solidarity.
First Steps
Camsol was officially founded as Camsol Technologies UG in May 2022. In our very first month, we started with five student trainees. By the second month we had 13, and by August we had crossed the 30 mark. As our team grew, we began spreading the word in our German network. Thanks to the up-to-date skills and fresh perspectives of our young team, we were able to develop modern, attractive tech solutions quickly. One of our first projects was GasVisor, a brand-new start-up idea we worked on from early stages all the way to incorporation and initial investors.
Within months, a major German institution came knocking: the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe. Their intrapreneurial venture, Karla Plattform GmbH, was interested in Camsol’s fusion of IT excellence, executive consulting, and social impact. This partnership proved successful and is still ongoing.
Stronger Than Ever
By late summer 2022, the founders transformed Camsol Technologies UG into Camsol Innovations GmbH and established a branch office in Cameroon. Then, in mid-December, came the very first trip of the founding partners to Cameroon. The days spent in Buea were nothing short of amazing - the famous local hospitality, the delicious food, the beautiful warm weather, and most importantly the wonderful colleagues finally met face-to-face.
All these encounters gave us a fresh boost of energy, motivation, and passion. Camsol will build this bridge. We will continue working hand in hand across continents to make sure talent finds opportunity.
