The Chinese Dream of an African Entrepreneur
From Mambanda to Markpedia
My name is Ngu Divine Ndi, a Cameroonian from Mbu Village in the North West region. I grew up in Mambanda, Douala, with my parents, Mr. Ndi Lynn Esau and Mrs. Ajeh Tabifor Beatrice Ndi, alongside my siblings. I attended Faith Bilingual Primary School, where I obtained my First School Leaving Certificate, and later went through multiple secondary schools, including PHS Kumba, LCC Mankon, and Nabico, before finally earning my Advanced Level Certificate from Progressive Mankon Bamenda in 2008.
During my school years, I was quiet, shy, and reserved, the kind of student my friends wouldn’t bet on growing up. After completing my Advanced Level Certificate, I went to study Cisco Network Engineering at a ASAFE Cisco Academy in Douala around the airport. Around this time, my father had just traveled to the USA in search of greener pastures, while my mother sold food on the streets to support our upbringing. Every morning, she gave me 1,000 XAF ($1.50 USD) to go to school.
On some days, If I have to eat in school, then I will have to trek from our house to Cimitiere kotto Bass about 4km just so I can keep some money to get lunch in school. Life wasn’t fair at all growing up.
Despite all the challenges, I was determined to make it. I got my CCNP in 2010 and had my first job as a Cisco CCNA instructor at Empowerment Cisco Academy in Buea, UB Junction. This was my very first job and my salary was 40,000 XAF/month (less than $80 USD). After six months, I found an opportunity to travel to India to work as an Apple Advisor. This was the turning point for me in my career, I really had my hands on lab as taught back in the days in school.
Returning to Cameroon
Late 2011, I returned back to Cameroon, hoping to find a better job to no avail. A few months later, I got hired by SNS Mobility, I worked there for 10 months then I decided to leave to pursue my very first entrepreneurial venture.
In June 2012, I founded Globalrex, my first business venture. I traveled to Dubai to buy goods and resell them in Cameroon locally. At first business was doing pretty well, But then later, things took a downturn in 2014, due to currency devaluation, the current exchange rate went from 500xaf to 650xaf. Small businesses like us could no longer afford the luxury of traveling abroad (Dubai) again for business. At that moment, I decided to embark on a new adventure to China.
Arriving in China & The Birth of My Vision
On September 9, 2015, I arrived in China, Pudong Int’l Airport Shanghai, a country of 1.2 billion people, no parents, no friends, and no one to pick me up from the airport. All I had was my mind, It was obvious that if I needed to get my next meal, then I had to start thinking.
Upon arrival, I went straight to Hangzhou Normal University, where I enrolled as a student. The next day, I visited a local market to buy rice, only to realize that no one there understood English. This was when I realized that foreigners who come to China to do business had problem. At that point, I knew, « This is a problem I should solve. »
In order to bridge this gap, I needed two things: I had to learn Mandarin and also understand Chinese business culture. So, I went back to the university and started studying Mandarin and Chinese Business Culture. Hangzhou, the home of e-commerce giants Alibaba and ANT Group, deeply inspired me. Jack Ma, Alibaba’s founder, had even established an entrepreneurship unit at my university, fostering innovation in e-commerce. Witnessing how Alibaba transformed China’s business landscape ignited my curiosity.
After completing my studies, I realized that classroom knowledge alone wasn’t enough, so I decided to gain real-world business experience. I began traveling across Yiwu, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou, meeting manufacturers, forming strategic partnerships, and understanding global trade firsthand.
One key observation stood out from this experience: I realized most Chinese manufacturers were looking for opportunities to expand their markets into Africa. Meanwhile, in Cameroon, I recalled how many of us were seeking for ways to connect with Chinese manufacturers. Seeing this gap, The dots connected and I created Markpedia in 2017, a platform designed to bridge the trade gap between Chinese manufacturers and businesses in Africa.
Founding Markpedia & Returning to Cameroon
Markpedia was officially registered in Guangzhou in 2017 As a foreign trade company, starting with international trade and exporting goods from China. However, in 2020, I realized that Cameroon and Africa lacked a structured B2B e-commerce marketplace. I decided to return home to build a solution for businesses across Africa.
By 2021, we started the engineering Markpedia E-commerce Marketplace pplatform. Today, we have on boarded more than 10,000 Suppliers. The vision remains to build Africa’s most trusted and seamless digital trade infrastructure, empowering businesses of all sizes to trade globally, efficiently, and profitably. I remain committed to empowering businesses, transforming digital trade, and creating opportunities for Africa.
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