We are please to announce that once again this year we have two headline sponsors, Google and Ringo.
Ringo believes that everyone is entitled to access Information Communications Technologies (ICT) without which growth and economic development, in a world of globalization, are not possible. Ringo's mission is to make the Internet accessible to the greatest number of Cameroonians.
Once again this year Ringo will be providing fast Internet over wifi during the event, providing free t-shirts for every participant and publicising the event in the press and through their website and street banners. In addition their engineers will be at the event to talk about some of the latest technologies they are working with.
Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. Despite some of the lowest Internet penetration rates in the world, Africa has enticed Google. The company's investment in the continent and events like this represents Google's long-term commitment to driving the web forward for users globally through creating developer platforms, supporting open standards, and providing building blocks for developers to create robust web applications.
We are excited once again to be sponsored as part of Google's G-Africa initiative, which is aimed at software developers. Google will be covering the cost of the lunch for all participants and they are sending a number of Google staff to do talks at BarCamp.
Without these two headline sponsors this event would not have been the same, and so we are very thankful to both of them for their continued commitment to BarCamp Cameroon.
There is still time to sponsor BarCamp Cameroon 2010, please read on if you are interested about the benefits and advantages.
BarCamp is an ad-hoc gathering born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. It is an intense event with discussions, demos, and interaction from attendees.
The first BarCamp Cameroon was held on November 7, 2009 in Douala and after its success with more than 250 participants who attended the event with a peak of 200 more following the event online, the consensus was to hold a second edition as soon as possible.
BarCamp Cameroon 2010 will be happening again on the 12th of June, 2010 in the Djeuga Palace Hotel in Yaoundé, we have an official blog and we use twitter to promote the event. The registration site is here: http://barcampcameroon.eventbrite.com/
Within less than two weeks with publicity purely via our blog and twitter account we have managed to nearly sell out the event.
We were also in the news on many websites and blogs as well as the local newspaper and radio (http://www.lemessager.net/2009/11/barcamp-cameroon-la-grand-messe-des-tic-a-douala/), you can get a good idea of how the event went last time from the photos here: http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=barcampcameroon&m=text and also from the live feed from the first barcamp (http://africamp.com/eng/articles/cameroon/asw1257575318/).
This year we have a bigger budget for the media and we would expect coverage in print, on TV and Radio. However we feel that the biggest benefit to sponsors is to be associated with the BarCamp brand and the exposure of the company to the participants. BarCamp is not an event where sponsors are encouraged to come and present their products but rather to take part as participants, presenting aspects of the cool technology that they use to help the whole IT community in Cameroon. Our goal is not to promote products but to promote community and sharing within the Cameroonian IT sector. We feel privileged that sponsors like Google and Ringo have returned again as sponsors of this event as without their support the event would not exist.
Currently our headline sponsors are Google and Ringo, with a number of other companies providing smaller amounts. Our current sponsorship shortfall is around 500,000 - 700,000 CFA (it depends on other sponsors committing). You can see our budget and what sponsors have committed here: https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Alf9cQlbgXhydEN3Q0cwRHZsYkg2cTlYN19SX2pRTlE&hl=en
It should be noted that the event is not run by one particular company, but rather by a group of volunteers who co-ordinate their activities online via a mailing list. Our finances are open and available online and we prefer our sponsors to pay our suppliers directly rather than through an intermediary. The event is run to break even, not to make a profit.
If you are interested in sponsoring the event please get in touch with Jeremy (+237 977 99940) as we would be happy to meet you in person or talk on the phone to present further the event and discuss the benefits in detail.
Along with ,Ringo,Google and a few others – Africonline is now an official sponsor of BarCamp Cameroon !
Africonline is a newly formed African Centered design and development Group. This company is an extension of a more than 10 years old American company that has well over 50 clients to date. The partnership with certain African natives, business owners and leading IT companies have resulted in a force that believes in a world where every and all Small businesses can and should have an internet presence at a minimum. Top notch technology, high production value design and slick efficient visual communication medium are all rolled into a ready-to-go out-of-the-box affordable package at just the mere cost of regular application hosting. With custom design solutions developed for easy and fast integration into the framework, AO aims at Changing the Digital Face of Africa.
"A website for all. This is what we were born to do and this is the time, so join us."
We are pleased to have Africonline as one of sponsor of this first edition of BarCamp Cameroon.
Hi Everyone,
It's a little over 3 weeks till Saturday the 7th of November when the first BarCamp Cameroon will be lifting off at our new venue the Le Meridien Hotel in Douala.
We have been able to move to this new much better venue because we have a number of very generous sponsors for the event already. Our sponsors include:
* Ringo is our headline sponsor and they are providing free T-Shirts for the event, banners, marketing materials and hostesses for the day as well as their own fast Internet for free during the event.
* Google has also come on board as a major sponsor and their sponsorship is covering the cost of the venue, sound systems and other costs to do with the event.
* Africa 2.0 and Africa Startup Challenge are sponsoring the lunch for the event
* Open Solutions Cameroun is sponsoring the event by providing logistics to help organise the event.
* Limbe Labs is providing logistical support and the network infrastructure during the event.
After initially estimating that around 100 people would attend the event we are now rapidly approaching our maximum capacity of 200 attendees, the event is shaping up to be a seminal moment to open up the IT community in Cameroon and the list of attendees is impressive, if you haven't checked the list recently you can see the full list at:
http://barcampdouala.eventbrite.com/
Just a small selection of the companies represented: Ringo, Google, CRTV, CNPS, Microsoft, Orange, MTN, Douala1, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Kerawa
We are still looking for sponsors!
Does your company want to gain greater exposure to the who's who of IT in Cameroon? Do you want to see your logo up on the event banners and website publicity alongside the likes of Ringo and Google?
You still have an opportunity! To ensure the event is a complete success we are still looking for sponsors to come forward to sponsor the following:
* Mini breakfast of Coffee/Tea/Cold Drinks, croissants and cake when attendees arrive
* A smaller networking dinner in the evening after the event for about 40 selected attendees
It's worth noting that BarCamp Cameroon is a FREE event and that none of the organisers benefit from the event. All sponsors will pay directly to the service providers and full accounting for the event will be published on the internet afterwards for all to see.
What are the benefits for your company?
Direct benefits of your participation:
* As a sponsor, you will have your name and logo on the wiki and the blog as well as official event T-Shirts and banners as well as a mention during the conference.
* You will have your company name associated with an event that stands for technology, that is new and innovative along with the hype surrounding an event that is unconventional.
* You earn the respect and attention of two hundred of the best geeks and technologists in Cameroon, and a technology opinion leaders scattered around the country with your presence on the wiki and blog. The reach of this event goes far beyond Cameroon though to the rest of Africa and the world who are watching this event closely.
* If you sponsor the networking dinner you will be involved in the nomination process to choose the attendees and you will be able to do a short presentation before the dinner about your company or products.
I want to sponsor, what do I need to do?
We are looking for sponsors to put in a minimum of 200,000 CFA (€300) and our estimate for the remaining costs is 800,000 CFA for the mini-breakfast and about the same for the dinner.
If you are interested then please do get in touch with us on email at sponsors (at) barcampcameroon (dot) org or DM us on twitter (@BarCampCameroon)
But wait, there's more!
If you are still reading this far we thought we would tease you with just a few of the things that we are planning to do on the day and after the event to build a bit more excitement.
* Live Blogging of the event for those unable to get tickets or who want to watch the event abroad.
* Live twitter feeds on screens around the event.
* There will be a professional videographer filming at the event doing interviews and filming excerpts of talks, after the event these will be edited and placed online on our vimeo channel.
* And more...
Do you want to get involved in planning or want to volunteer your services for something again contact us on email at information (at) barcampcameroon (dot) org or DM us on twitter (@BarCampCameroon) or join our google group for organisers: http://groups.google.com/group/barcampcameroon
Follow Us
* Blog: http://barcampafrica.com/cameroon
* Twitter: http://twitter.com/BarCampCameroon
* Identi.ca : http://identi.ca/group/barcampcameroon
* Linkedin : http://www.linkedin.com/e/vgh/2167753/
* Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=130832626678
