It Pays to Apply: From Cameroon to South Africa with Chevron ELP | Princia N., Daniellita D., Anaelle T., & Manfred Agha
- Open Dreams
- 7 hours ago
- 2 min read
To describe our experience at the Chevron ELP program, we have one powerful phrase: It Pays to Apply!
Our journey began when a commission at Open Dreams and TiC pre-selected eight of us for the opportunity and thus shared it with us in a dedicated WhatsApp group. We didn’t hesitate—we applied enthusiastically! A few months later, we received an email informing us that we had been selected for the 2-week Chevron Engineering Leadership Program (ELP) at the African Leadership Academy in Johannesburg South Africa. This marked our first opportunity ever to fly out of Cameroon!
Participating in the Engineering Leadership Program was an incredible experience—fun, engaging, and impactful. We had the privilege of learning about leadership and entrepreneurship from some of Africa's best leaders. This shaped our mindset, reinforcing the belief that it is possible to succeed in Africa as an entrepreneur if you believe in yourself, have a good mentor, and, most importantly, apply what you have learned.
After the training, we faced the real challenge: tackling food insecurity in Africa. At first, we were scared. We had always worked in our Cameroonian group, but now we were divided into teams with other inspiring youth from across the continent. This separation was intimidating, yet it brought us invaluable new experiences.
We spent our time collaborating, building, and sharing our stories of being African. Through networking, we discovered a profound truth: We are all one people. Our shared experiences—from our unique English dialect (pidgin English) to our similar traditions—united us.
As we continued working on our projects to combat food insecurity, we implemented everything we had learned. Together, we developed groundbreaking solutions! This experience taught us to believe in ourselves, connect with other Africans, and, most importantly, showed us that success is attainable on our continent if we have the right mindset, a supportive network, and great mentors.
We’ll conclude with this: It Pays to Apply! So go ahead APPLY!
A special thanks to the African Leadership Academy (ALA), Chevron, Open Dreams, and TiC for making this transformative experience possible.
Ntyam Minko Princia, Defang Daniellita, Tchatchouang Anaelle and Manfred Agha