By all accounts, Che Bruno was never destined for the spotlight at least not in the traditional sense. Born in Ndop, Ngoketundjia Division in the North West Region of Cameroon, and rooted in the modest but determined soil of Bafut Sub-Division, Che grew up in a family where survival was measured in harvests.
“My dad is a carpenter and my mum (may her soul rest in peace) was a small-scale food vendor,” he recalls. “Agriculture was my family’s greatest source of income and as children, we spent the greater part of our out-of-school time in the farm.”
But Che’s dream was always bigger than the furrows of the family farm. “Growing up as a child, my greatest desire was to become a journalist,” he says. “I wanted to hold public officials accountable for the promises they make to their citizens and to name and shame the ones that fall short of living up to popular expectations.”
At school, he joined the journalism club and turned campus chatter into crisp news updates, reading them every Monday and Friday. Meanwhile, trade was Che’s side hustle. “I would spend every holiday period hawking cigarettes, biscuits, sweets, groundnuts and tomatoes at motor parks and local markets,” he says. “I saw trade and business as that activity that would give me the money that I needed to pursue my true-life goal.”
Che’s academic path led him to the University of Buea where he earned a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. He embraced the media world wholeheartedly, taking on news reporting and Public Relations roles. But destiny had different plans.
A New Chapter: Digifarms Africa
In 2019, Che made a daring pivot. He left the comfort of public relations and plunged into full-time entrepreneurship, launching Digifarms Africa. “One of the things that I have always known about myself even from childhood is that I have a gift when it comes to communications and advertising,” he says. With no formal tech training, he leaned on his fast-learning nature and passion for innovation.
But why agriculture?
“I wanted a sector of activity that gives me a chance to address the challenges that many more people face in Africa today,” Che explains. “Agriculture employs approximately 60% of Africa’s population but we still spend a whooping 35 billion dollars every year importing food.”
Digifarms Africa wasn’t just another agri-business—it was a mission. “I wanted to put myself in a position where I give the African farmer the opportunity to market their products in real time, identify opportunities for transformation and valorization of their products,” Che says.
Today, Digifarms Africa operates from Campaign Street One, Great Soppo Buea in Cameroon and employs six full-time staff, with 25 part-timers, contractors, and consultants. In 2024, they acquired a five-hectare experimental farm in Nkoteng, Centre Region, where they’re building a maize and cassava production facility poised to serve several regions across Cameroon.
Their three-pronged model—agricultural production, product transformation, and agri-commodity e-commerce—is transforming the agricultural narrative.
Challenges and the Courage to Persist
Of course, no path to purpose is paved without resistance. “Getting policy stakeholders in Cameroon and Africa in general to believe in the potential that lies in young people has not been an easy task,” Che says. Yet, his efforts and advocacy have started to shift that perception. “Today we see a significant increase in the level of state investment in youth initiatives across the continent.”
Still, practical challenges remain. “Banks still wouldn’t touch us,” he admits. “They still very much find it hard to believe that we will bring back their money if they give it to us.” Bootstrapping, grants, and government subventions remain their lifelines.
But Che doesn’t flinch. “We still do a lot of agricultural production even today,” he says, “but one thing I generally tell my team members every day is that our engagements in agricultural productions are not intended as the end in itself but as a base from which we seek to mobilize the funds required to run our Agritech and commodity trading initiatives.”
Seeds of Success
Digifarms’ progress is nothing short of remarkable. “In 2019, we enrolled and got selected for the Entrepreneurship program of the Tony Elumelu Foundation in Nigeria,” he says. With a $3,000 seed fund, they launched their first e-commerce platform, processing over 300 transactions in two years and registering 600 producers.
By 2023, they had established a commodity transformation unit converting cassava into garri and maize into flour, serving over 5,000 consumers monthly. In 2024, the ENABLE Youth Program brought fresh wind under their wings, powering the launch of their maize transformation facility.
Come June 2025, they’ll unveil a poultry farm projected to produce 4,000 table birds every three months. “We want to get that point where with just USD4, an average Cameroonian should be able to afford high quality poultry products,” he says.
Che’s impact reaches far beyond Digifarms. As a mentor for both the Tony Elumelu Foundation and YALI (Young African Leaders Initiative), he’s guiding more than 25 emerging entrepreneurs across the continent. In 2023, he was named among the top 50 entrepreneurs to connect with in Africa by the Tony Elumelu Foundation.
Beyond the Boardroom
Even with his packed schedule, Che finds time to pursue other passions. “I still practice Journalism but more as a freelancer,” he shares. Alongside friends, he’s developing Beta Life Foundation to empower communities with options for happier lives. He’s also setting up Cleansarl Incorporated, a social enterprise focused on producing laundry detergents and household cleaning products.
“I have intentions of joining politics in Cameroon sometime in future,” he adds. “And more than those, my other greatest desire is to work on my own personal development… and just enjoy the progress.”
And yes, he sings. “I love singing but unfortunately, I am not a very good singer… much of my singing is often done just in my bedroom,” he laughs.
Che’s Advice to African Entrepreneurs
“For the young African entrepreneur, I would say hang in there. Don’t pack your bags just yet,” he says. “It’s a good thing moreso that they come with limited resources because it gives you the opportunity to reflect on your journey… and feel proud of the progress.”
He believes Africa’s leadership is catching up. “The future is Orange I would say,” Che beams.
And he’s betting big on innovation. “We are seeking to relaunch our ecommerce platform and this time we may just be embedding a little bit of AI into what we do,” he reveals. “Rather than wait to join later, I think African entrepreneurs should find a way to get ahead of these innovations and tap into benefits early enough.”
“In most of my media outings I generally talk of resilience and determination,” Che reflects. “It teaches you how to understand that the greatest comfort in life sometimes lies in the acceptance of discomfort.”
And his final punch of truth? “If you want a life of zero chaos, dust your CV, go get a job… but trust me, even there you will realize that the comfort you seek isn’t exactly available.”
Che Bruno is not just building a business—he’s shaping a future, redefining African entrepreneurship one harvest at a time.
