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Friday, November 10, 2023

Cameroon: Fongoh & Partners Real Estate -Buea

Appropriate Solution to Landed Propriety Problems 

Fongoh Valentine,CEO, Fongoh &Partners Real Estate Company,Buea

By Christopher Ambe  and  Zifac Fatima

Recently ,Buea, capital city of the South West region has been identified by experts as one of the fastest growing cities in Cameroon.

Magnificent and towering structures are sprouting up every day as investors at home and from the Diaspora struggle for landed property for profitable investments.

This has made real estate not only a highly profitable but also a high-risk venture. Cases of unscrupulous and shady land deals abound resulting in never-ending litigations in court.

Faced with the situation, some young Cameroonians have created a real estate company-FONGOH AND PARTNERS REAL ESTATE SOLUTIONS to legally and officially serve as real estate agents in Buea.

With a financial capital of hundreds of millions of FCFA the company is developing fast and gaining ground.

Africa Excellence magazine caught up with the young CEO of the company, Fongoh Valentine Tekang, 38, who is a graduate of the University of Buea.

In an exclusive interview with AFRICA EXCELLENCE, the CEO explains how and why the company was founded and how it is faring.

Read on:

There are many real estate agents and institutions in the Town of Legendary Hospitality, but the one that has become a household name in Buea is FONGOH and Partners Real Estate Solutions, located in Bonduma-Buea

As the name suggests FONGOH AND PARTNERS provides genuine solutions to people who face real estate problems and approach them.

Company's surveyors at work

 In an exclusive Interview with AFRICA EXCELLENCE magazine, Fongoh Valentine Tekang, CEO of FONGOH AND PARTNERS REAL ESTATE SOLUTIONS, walked us through the creation of the company and how it has distinguished itself from other competitors in the domain.

Fongoh Valentine, 38, disclosed that he worked as a real estate agent in Buea for eight years and realized how lucrative the business was, and as such he could not resist an inner voice in him urging the creation of a real estate company.

“I was a real estate agent for eight years. It was lucrative and that influenced me to start my own business”, he said, noting that FONGOH & PARTNERS REAL ESTATE SOLUTIONS was incorporated in 2021, even as it was conceived in 2019.

Fongoh expressed happiness that his company, which has partners at home and abroad, already has   about 30 workers and hoped to employ more in the near future.

Citing as one of the achievements of FONGOH AND PARTNERS REAL ESTATE SOLUTIONS, the CEO said, “We have been able to solve the problems that people who bought land in the past used to have; initially, people used to buy landed property bedeviled by   problems. But we have been able to solve that. Apart from that, we have been able to create some farm-to-market roads due to our activities.

“Wherever we buy, we open roads; in the course of opening roads we provide roads that farmers use to transport their products.”

Corporate Social Responsibility.

Although a young company, Fongoh disclosed that FONGOH AND PARTNERS REAL ESTATE SOLUTIONS is conscious of and is performing its corporate social responsibility.

For example, mindful of the water crisis in Buea subdivision Fongoh disclosed: “We have been able to provide bore holes to some villages in Buea subdivision. We have earmarked ten (10) bore holes, out of which we have already drilled five.

“One bore hole within the Bonavanda area is very expensive costing about 4.5 million Fcfa because water is not easy to be found there.

“We dug a borehole in Bokwai, one in Bwitingi, two in Bonakanda and one in Lyongo, a village in between Bokwai and Bova.”

One of the company's buildings near completions
Battling Real Estate Challenges

Like in other activities, the real estate business has its challenges. But with a positive mindset and determination, all challenges are quickly overcome.

Fongoh admitted that there are many challenges dealing with land:

“Sometimes, you don't get the information you need; people give you information contrary to what is on the ground. Sometimes we meet people who sell land that doesn't belong to them; we also have problems in the course of developing the land like opening up of roads.

“I don't know why people don't understand that to open road is a good thing. We have to spend a lot of money before providing roads to some plots.”

 Success Secret

 Although many people are engaged in real estate, not all can boast of succeeding. But the CEO of FONGOH AND PARTNERS REAL ESTATE SOLUTIONS told AFRICA EXCELLENCE his company is hitting the mark.

“Well our success secret is honesty. We don’t allow an applicant buy land that is problematic. Even if you come and buy land from us and we come to realize that the said piece of land has a problem we relocate you elsewhere; but if you don't want to be relocated, we have a capital of above 350 million FCFA and we can guarantee the reimbursement of your money.

“I would like to state here that before we buy any land, we carry out our investigations from the village level right up to the Delegation in charge of land matters; at the village, we meet the chiefs to make assurance doubly sure before we buy to avoid future problems”

Fongoh said he has cordial relationship with other people in Buea dealing in real estate but quickly added that  “as at now the only office that is well established is ours”, noting that  some of those selling land are “mobile and don’t have a steady place where they do this”.

Grass-to-Grace Status

 If Fongoh is today said to be a shaker and mover in real estate business, it is not because he got some inheritance from the parents that paved his way to prominence. It is his hard work and determination to brave the odds and succeed.

“Actually, I was brought up by a single mother; my father died when I was still young and I saw how she toiled to sponsor me.

“There were times when she used to go to my primary school, begging to pay   250 Fcfa [as part of my school fees] for the teacher to allow me in class.

“Indeed, I passed through very rough times and when the Almighty God later on blessed me I made philanthropy my policy; so I always extend my generosity to the less-privileged.

“For example, for this 2023/24 academic year I have allocated 2.5 million Fcfa to assist some needy pupils and students pay their school fees.

 Philanthropic Activities.

“I also sponsor needy persons wanting to learn a trade, thereby empowering them with marketable skills.  My assistance is not limited to people from my village or tribe but is extended to the general public. I assist in paying house rents for some students, school fees etc.

“If I discover that you are sincerely in need and lack the means I extend my generosity to you,” Fongoh told AFRICA EXCELLENCE, noting  that  sometimes he himself scouts around for the needy  and at other times  he publicly announces  his  readiness and availability to help  via groups and social media platforms.

“I have given assistance to about 200 less-privileged people “

Farming is Profitable

Before becoming a real estate broker, Fongoh engaged in commercial farming and even now that he is CEO of Fongoh and Partners, he still does farming.

He urges those interested in farming to do commercial farming and employ workers “Because if they want to work alone they may not derive huge profits”, he pointed.

Wife’s Contribution

Mrs. Fongoh Chanceline Mbinja is the wife of Fongoh and they are blessed with four children. According to Fongoh, his wife who is also business-inclined is a booster to his efforts. “My beloved wife is so supportive of my business and development efforts. I lack words to describe her; in fact, she has contributed a lot through prayers, moral support and otherwise to the business and family progress”, he remarked.

Graduates Should Be Job-Creators.

Many university graduates spend years at home only hoping to be employed by the State or some big corporation instead of trying to be self-reliant.

But Fongoh thought differently upon his graduation from University of Buea.

“In this fast-evolving world, a graduate should think out of the box. The government must not employ every graduate. When I graduated in 2012, I had a serious problem with my family because they wanted me to apply for civil service jobs, but I refused.

“I said I’d rather take the money that I would have used to register public service competitive exams and do business with. They  did not like my decision , but  later on they realized that  my decision was a great one, because I have been sponsoring  my family and even  extended family  members with profits derived from the real estate business.

Fongoh’s Profile

Fongoh Valentine Tekang, now CEO of Fongoh and Partners Real Estate Solutions, Buea, was born some 38 years in Ashong, Batibo, Northwest region of Cameroon.

He got his basic education at CBC Ashong, GS Ngaku-Ashong and Government Practicing School (GPS) Molyko- Buea where he obtained his First School Leaving Certificate (FSLC).

Fongoh lost his father when he was still a child and was lef

CEO Fongoh Valentine
t only with his mother to cater for him. He attended the Musole Evening School and Frankfils Comprehensive School, Great Soppo-Buea where he obtained his GCE Ordinary Level and GCE Advanced Level in three subjects (Literature, History and Philosophy) in 2008 respectively.

A struggling Fongoh would later enroll into the prestigious University of Buea, where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Curriculum Studies and Teaching (History) in 2012.

Upon graduation from University of Buea, he taught for a period of five years at the Holy Child Comprehensive, College Bomaka-Buea; Government High School (GHS) Bolifamba and Baptist High School (BHS) Buea, before deciding to focus on real estate business.


 Couretsy: AFRICA EXCELLENCE MAGAZINE,Cameroon,Edition:September-October 2023

 


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