Digital Entrepreneurs: Home Bakers Turn Passion Into Profitable Business

I ncreasingly, aspiring entrepreneurs are turning their kitchens into small businesses, using social media plat­ forms such as WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram to market customized cakes and pastries. For most of these entrepreneurs, the journey started with a capital of just FCFA 30,000 and a passion to deliver the best sweet treats. This is the case with Laetitia Ngassa, a small-scale baker in Buea. She says, “people order a lot through WhatsApp, and I keep my so­ cial media presence very active so that my customers do not forget me”. In a month, she says she makes a profit of about FCFA 50,000 and on a good month, she makes up to FCFA 100,000. Being a student and an entrepreneur can be challenging but Sandrine Kuve makes it work as she attests to the profits of running a small-scale busi­ ness in Yaounde. She explains “main­ taining a physical shop is costly when thinking about taxes and rents as compared to the profits gotten from sales, so I stick to my home-based baking for now”. Sandrine began her business with no capital other than moral support and household items from her parents’ kitchen. Now, she is able to invest in her dreams with the money she has been getting from the business. In a month, she makes between FCFA 45,000 to 75,000 and this helps keep her small bakery mo­ ving. According to these daring entrepre­ neurs, cake surprises and small chops like donuts are highly sought after by their clients for different occasions and this increa...