Danielle Akini is the very prototype of what we call a woman of resilience. Having grown up in a precarious social and economic environment, her only weapon when faced with the difficulties she encounters on a daily basis is her determination to build a better life for herself and her future offspring. Today she is the CEO of Genius Muna, a startup that offers training in computer programming, robotics, computer literacy and many others, for young people from 4 to 18 years old. Danielle's journey to this point is one of a genuine fighter.
Background
"As a child, I did small businesses such as selling water, bananas, oranges, etc. Knowing already what entrepreneurship is, I always wanted to do a job where it would be easy for me to be my own boss," says Danielle Akini, when asked why she decided to embrace the field of ITs. Dyslexic and unstable during her primary and secondary education, the young woman had a difficult academic career, which led to several academic failures. But after obtaining her baccalauréat '(A-Levels) in 2011, Danielle decided, thanks to the newspapers' reports about the future of computer science, to study web development. Danielle finances her studies as a computer engineer in Ivory Coast by running a small restaurant when she arrives in the country. In 2011, civil war broke out in Ivory Coast and her dream of becoming a computer engineer was shattered. Nevertheless, Danielle obtained a professional degree that made her an IT engineer.
Back home, Danielle focused on one goal: to quickly gain experience and open her own business. Confident, she applied for jobs in several companies in the cities of Yaoundé and Douala. The only answers to these applications were refusals and silence which she later understood. Actually, it is Danielle's " female " gender that made her miss out on all these jobs and the employers who were kind enough to invite her for an interview, did not fail to let her know. The most kind employer went so far as to suggest that she become a laborer on a fishing boat in Italy, because as a woman she would never find a job in the computer field. This may have rubbed Danielle the wrong way, but it did not dissuade her. In November 2011, although it did not really fit her profile, she decided to accept the job of manager in a cybercafé because there she could do research and build her skills while waiting to be recruited as a developer. She worked there for three months and then received a job offer as a manager of a printing house with a very attractive salary. However, she did not want to spread herself too thinly and, as the job offer did not fit in with her professional goals, she turned it down.
In February 2012, when a company decided to give her a chance as a web development trainee, Danielle Akini jumped at the opportunity to pursue her dream and no obstacle stood in her way. Despite the frustrations of her colleagues who sometimes refused to work with her just because she is a woman, it was enough for her employer to give her a single project for her to become a fixture in the company.
Genius Muna
Danielle, who still aims for professional and financial independence, was only employed for three years before setting up her own company. Her dynamism and thoroughness made her a front-runner in the Cameroonian technology ecosystem. This subsequently aroused the interest of Google, which invited her to seminars in the United States, Congo, France...
At the same time, she developed her start-up, which was launched in 2015. For the ingenious Danielle, "the choice of children as the target of Genius Muna stems from the fact that the market is untapped, as training programmes for children in this field are almost non-existent," she says. Her choice is also supported by her desire to have a long-term impact on society by working with young people.
Danielle began by setting up Genius in Makepe, a popular suburb of Douala. But she quickly realized that this location was not optimal for her target group due to the precarious social and financial situation of its inhabitants. Thus, a few months later, she left Makepe and opened two branches in Bonanjo and Bonapriso, two upscale neighborhoods in Douala, and a branch in Bastos in the city of Yaoundé. The company was soon joined in its second year by 7 partners. Now with 10 hubs, Danielle has the opportunity to evaluate and improve her service by further developing the Genius Muna e-learning platform.
Danielle Akini's company is now being used by schools in Cameroon and Benin and is gaining more and more market share. The experience is so positive that a partnership is being formed with other schools in Senegal. Driven by the determination she has had since childhood, Danielle intends to conquer more territory with Genius in the short term.
