Steven Nbienou Kouadjo, President of the SNK Foundation
Jun 6, 2025
Sylvie, Josué, Clarisse, Ibrahim… These are names we hear every day. They don't come from top schools. They don't have a master's degree in data science. But they have one precious thing: the desire to change their lives. And today, thanks to artificial intelligence, it's finally possible.
We often think that AI is for rich countries, experts, and geeks. Wrong. AI is a tool. Powerful. Accessible. And above all, it brings hope. It can help us learn, undertake, find our way, innovate, and express ourselves better... But we still need access to it.
In Cameroon, more than half of young people are unemployed. Access to digital technology remains unequal. We cannot afford to look at AI from afar. We must embrace it. Make it accessible. Adapt it to our realities.
That's why we launched the SNK AI Challenge 2025 : free training in five major cities for 100 young people. A four-day immersion, intense, human, and hands-on. Not to train coders, but augmented citizens. Young people capable of working with , imagining, and creating with tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Canva, and ElevenLabs.
And it's already starting to pay off.
Our youth aren't lacking talent. They're lacking opportunities. What artificial intelligence offers today is a gateway to another reality . But to achieve this, we must break down barriers, shatter prejudices, and decentralize knowledge.
This is what we are doing, with the support of AI For Africa Initiatives , and with the support of the media and many others who have understood that technology can be a citizen fight .
Josué wants to create a school guidance app for rural students. Clarisse imagines a voice assistant in pidgin to explain health to illiterate women. What we're doing here isn't training. It's opening up new horizons .
Everything is designed to ensure no barriers stand in the way of their progress: lessons, equipment, everything is taken care of. Even the selection process is driven by AI tools to ensure fairness, without nepotism or favoritism.
Behind every young person trained, there is a family, a neighborhood, an idea that can grow. Behind every mini-project, there is a message: progress must leave no one behind .
What we're doing here isn't just a program. It's a signal sent to an entire generation. A call to believe in their abilities. To use the tools of the present to build a different future.
Yes, AI can be scary. But it can also right injustices. Give a voice to those who aren't heard. Open doors to those who aren't seen.
And Cameroon has no intention of remaining a spectator. It can, it must, become a player in this revolution. A silent, yet powerful revolution.
And what we start with 100 young people today, tomorrow it will be with 10,000. Inshallah.