Kate Fotso
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Cocoa export |
| Founder | Kate Kanyi-Tometi Fotso |
| Headquarters | Cameroon |
Key people | Kate Kanyi-Tometi Fotso (CEO) |
| Products | Cocoa exports |
| Parent | TAF Investment Group (implied connection through founder's late spouse) |
Kate Kanyi-Tometi Fotso is a prominent Cameroonian entrepreneur who established the country’s leading cocoa export company. Forbes Africa identifies her as the wealthiest woman in Cameroon and ranks her twentieth among the richest individuals within the African Francophone region.
Career
Fotso boasts more than two decades of experience in the cocoa industry, earning her the title "iron lady of the cocoa sector." She was married to André Fotso, the founder of TAF Investment Group and former president of the Cameroonian Employers' Association, who passed away in August 2016.
As co-founder and CEO of Telcar Cocoa, Cameroon’s foremost cocoa exporting firm, she oversees operations that account for nearly 30% of the nation’s cocoa exports—around 48,000 tons during 2015–2016. Telcar maintains a strategic partnership with Cargill, an American agricultural commodities company. Appointed by President Paul Biya, Fotso serves on the board of directors for the autonomous port of Kribi, where she represents exporters. Additionally, she holds equity in Ecobank Cameroun and administers investments inherited from her late spouse.
Fotso spearheads the "Kargill Cocoa Promise" program, which between 2011 and 2015 provided training to 21,000 Cameroonian cocoa farmers aimed at enhancing their agricultural expertise.
According to Forbes Africa, her net worth stands at $252 million, making her the richest woman in Cameroon and placing her twentieth among the wealthiest in the African Francophone community. She is notably the first female entrepreneur to appear within the top 30 rankings across African Francophone and Sub-Saharan wealth listings and has been acknowledged by Slate Magazine (French edition) as one of Cameroon’s ten most influential personalities.