From Cameroon to France, Singapore: This top b-school graduate is shaping the future of African professionals

One person cannot undo a whole continent’s systemic issues, but they can inspire and influence individuals to pursue their goals. Besides, all it really takes is a single conversation to steer your compass just a few degrees off course and into the right direction.

That’s what happened for Kévin Kemadjou, and that’s what he’s aiming to do himself, one step at a time: inspire the future of African professionals.

For Kemadjou, that single interaction took place in the city centre of Paris.

He’s originally from Cameroon, but left when he was eight to move to France, where he has spent most of his life, now aged 36.

Before changing careers, he had been working in consulting at Accenture France. He’d liked what he was doing, but there was always a yearning for something more.

Something tangible, more impactful.

Kemadjou is currently based between Paris and Nairobi. Source: Kevin Kemadjou

An MBA didn’t cross his mind, at first. It only came about because he saw an email about an MBA information session hosted by a top business school, INSEAD, in Paris.

Even then, he only attended the event to accompany a friend.

That friend was the one who had actually wanted to pursue an MBA, but in a twist of fate, ended up not doing so.

But Kemadjou did, despite his indifference towards the programme. “I didn’t pay attention that much. To be fair, I didn’t care,” Kemadjou admits.

“After that, during cocktail drinks, an alumnus came to me, and I said, ‘Oh, sir, I’m not a target for that. You should talk to my best friend right over there.’ He said, ‘No, no, I’ve been watching you, and you need to leave this place with something to bring back home and think about.”

At INSEAD, Kemadjou could connect with students from all over Africa and beyond. Source: Kévin Kemadjou

Carpe diem – that is, if you can

Sometimes, you have to seize the opportunity when it presents itself.

If Kemadjou hadn’t followed his friend to the MBA information session just to keep him company, he would’ve never met the alumnus over cocktail drinks. If he hadn’t met the alumnus, he wouldn’t have started to consider pursuing an MBA — would’ve never gone to INSEAD.

“At INSEAD, the programme is so intense. You have to deep dive within your strengths, and you have to go beyond your own lines. Some people are very talented, but for most of the students, it’s not easy,” says Kemadjou. “My Period 1 was catastrophic — I had to change the way I was working to become efficient.”

The domino effect continues. Without INSEAD, he would’ve never grown, never met students from different parts of Africa, South America, Asia, and more. He never would’ve gone to Singapore for a year or served as the president of the Africa Business Club. His connections wouldn’t be as extensive, and he wouldn’t be working his dream career right now in project finance at CrossBoundary Advisory.

While working in project finance today, Kemadjou still leverages his ties with INSEAD to connect with other African students and professionals. Source: Kévin Kemadjou

Carpe diem: meaning to “seize the day” or “take full advantage of present opportunities.” At that moment, at the MBA information session, Kemadjou found himself at the right place, the right time, with the right people. After much contemplation, he saw a school that was the right fit for the future he sought: not only to work in project finance, but also to give back to Cameroon.

The thing is, many places in the world simply don’t have opportunities to seize.

With over 60% of Africa’s population under the age of 25, there is no shortage of talent and potential to drive innovation and create impact. Therein lies the problem, though: job opportunities available are not on par with the number of youths entering the workforce.

It’s a systemic issue that’s been going on for years. While school completion rates have increased between 2000 and 2022 amongst primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary students, four out of 10 children in Sub-Saharan Africa live in poverty.

UNESCO reports that in the region, 98 million of them are not attending school. It’s an education crisis.

The gaps continue in higher education. While enrolment is also on the rise, it’s still only at 9% — the global average being 38%. Youth unemployment rates remain high.

“If you see like, quantitative mathematics, you will meet people who are super strong, but they have no access to the global job market. And here, opportunities for this kind of profile are quite limited,” he says. “Even if they find some job, they will face a kind of glass ceiling.”

Kemadjou served as a link between students to alumni members and companies while he was the president of INSEAD’S Africa Business Club. Source: Kévin Kemadjou

Contributing towards a brighter future in Africa

Change cannot happen overnight, and it certainly cannot happen with one person.

But there are people like Kemadjou who are working hard to inspire the future of African professionals. He wants them to pursue their education despite the setbacks; to take on opportunities they otherwise may not seek out themselves.

“I organised the first Cameroonian INSEAD event. The Cameroonians here were very happy, very surprised that this school came to meet them. They know about INSEAD, but it’s so far away for them that they’re even afraid to raise questions by email to the school,” he says. “We had at least one student who successfully applied based on this event.”

When he was the president of INSEAD’s Africa Business Club, he worked on connecting students with the alumni community and companies. The club often hosted keynotes for students to gain specialised information on the job market, as well as a cultural fest with other clubs.

Today, Kemadjou is also working on a project with other alumni members to enhance INSEAD’s presence in Cameroon. Through his work, he gets to meet many aspiring African professionals, and receives calls every single week from hopefuls looking for advice.

If there is one thing he’d advise African students seeking a global education, it’s to set clear objectives.

“You have to set your own objective. Every single day, everything you do is to be on track towards this objective,” says Kemadjou. “If you want to do an MBA, talk to MBA students, do research — that’s the first thing. Second thing, you have to set what you want to do after your MBA.”

Kemadjou points out that if you want to go to a prestigious school like INSEAD just for the school alone, then it’s likely you won’t get far. A prestigious school in name alone won’t increase your chances of employment. It’s having a clear vision and working towards it consistently to master the skills you need.