Why Many Family Businesses In Cameroon Do Not Survive Their Founders (Part 5):

The cases of NANGAH Company and CHE & SONS Company, whose Founders were illustrious sons of the Northwest Province

Each of the two Founders of these different Family Businesses, unfortunately failed to train a successor in the management of the Family Business  

In the 1970s and 80s, three sons of the then Northwest Province and Founders of  big Family Businesses, made waves as they indisputably featured  amongst the then prominent economic operators in Cameroon. There was the ‘big brother’, DANIEL NANGAH of Mbatu – Bamenda.  He was the Founder of NANGAH COMPANY. There was DANIEL CHE from Mankon – Bamenda. He was the Founder of CHE & SONS COMPANY. There was SYLVESTER K. KILO of the Nso tribe, who to be precise, hailed from Jakiri Sub-division in Bui Division. He was the Founder of KILO & BROS COMPANY.

But unfortunately, all these three great Family Businesses did not survive their Founders. In other words, Nangah Company, Che & Sons Company and Kilo & Bros Company, each ‘died’ after the passing away of its Founder. The obvious question will of course be why these great Family Businesses did not survive their Founders. In this article, The Mentor Will focus on Nangah Company and Che & Sons Company, because of a problem that the  Founders of the two  Family Businesses that initially were close friends, unfortunately had along theline., and which seriously affected them, especially Che.  The Mentor will focus on the case of Kilo & Bros Company in a separate article.

Nangah Company

Nangah Company was the first of the three companies to be created. In fact Daniel Nangah started his business way back in the 1960s, that is, in the days of West Cameroon. Nangah Company was a building construction company. Thanks to the intervention of Prime Minister John Ngu Foncha of West Cameroon, Daniel Nangah who was a brilliant and prudent business man, was able to obtain a loan from Cameroon Bank to develop his construction company, which rapidly grew to become a force to be reckon with in the entire country in the domain of building construction. Because of the excellent work which the company was doing, the Nangah Company was able to get many big contracts from the Ahidjo Government in Yaounde. It should be noted that the Nangah Company was involved in the project to construct the National Oil Refinery, SONARA, in Limbe, precisely the residential quarter for senior personnel, which till date is still commonly known as ‘Cite Nangah’.

Daniel Nangah was also the proprietor of the then famous and imposing Sky Line Hotel at Bamenda Up Station, which in its good old days was the preserve of the high class or money bags in the society. Nangah also had some houses in  Bamenda town, which  were put on rents, like the one that was hosting the Northwest Provincial Delegation of Education and the Nangah Bakery.  But Nangah was not really much into hotel business or real estate. His company was mainly for building construction.

Nangah built one of his residential homes in Bonaberi – Douala, and till date the entrance towards the compound at ‘Nouvelle Route Bonaberi’, is commonly known to the population as  Nangah,  though many people today do not know why that name. It should be noted that before Daniel Nangah died in 1990, that compound in Bonaberi was now owned by his lawyer, Chief Dr HNA Enongchong.  In Bamenda, Nangah constructed or tarred road from what became known as Nangah Junction in the outskirt of Bamenda town, to his village Mbatu, a few couple of kilometres away. Worth noting, that Mbatu is today a village in Bamenda II Sub – division. It is interesting to note that Nangah did not build a residential home or compound in Bamenda town or at Banmenda Up station.  Rather, he built it in his village (Mbatu).So while in Bamenda, he was living in his village,

Failure To Train Successor In The Management Of The Family Business

Meanwhile, though Daniel Nangah was a great economic operator in Cameroon, he unfortunately failed like most economic operators in Cameroon then, to train one of his children or a close family member, as successor in the management of the big Family Business that he created, the Nangah Company. As experts have repeatedly explained, the successor in the management of a Family Business and the successor as next –of – kin are two different things.  The successor in the management of a Family Business is someone trained by the Founder of the Family Business, to eventually takeover from him as Manager of the business, when he is no along there. Unfortunately Daniel Nangah did not train a successor in the management of the Family Business, which more so was a building construction company, and not just an ordinary business like a shop.

The Founder Did Not Also Bring In Any Partner

One of the models of Family Businesses in Europe and some parts of the world, as The Mentor explained in an earlier article, is that the Founder of a Family Business along the line brings in a partner or some partners into the enterprise.  Such partners are supposed to be persons who have the capacity to raise funds to sustain the Family Business when the need arises, and to also lobby for contracts as In the case of the Nangah Company, which was a building construction company, doing contracts. The partners should have also been persons with the capacity to negotiate or get or contracts for the company. One thing about this type of Family Business is that even though a partner or partners are brought in along the line, the name of the Family Business remains unchanged.

This model of a Family Business is very necessary for a Family Business like the Nangah Company, which was a building and construction company. This is a type of business that does need partners who have the capacity to enable the company to raise funds, including negotiating loans from banks to execute certain contracts, and who also have the capacity to open doors to lobby for contracts for the company. So when the Founder of the Family Business happens to pass away, his successor in the management of the Family Business, will continue to work with the other partners, and thus the business will stay on.  The Family Business would not die with the Founder, but will rather survive the Founder.

Unfortunately Daniel Nangah maintained his Family Business as a one man affair, and also did not train a successor in the management of the Family Business. So when he passed away in 1990, there was nobody to keep the company alive. And so the Family Business, Nangah Company, ended up not surviving its Founder.

  Che & Sons Company

Daniel Che was a teacher with the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, PCC. Along the line, Che decided to resign and get into what is commonly known in Cameroon as contracts. He became a building construction contractor. Fortunately for Che, he met Daniel Nangah who was one of the big building contractors in Cameroon, and who decided to treat him like a brother. Whenever Nangah got a big contract, he would give part of the work to Che. Whenever Che was in need of funds to finance a contract, he would turn to Nangah, who would provide him with the funds, or he would assist him to get a loan from the bank. Nangah and Che became very close friends, and Che & Sons Company was waxing strong.

As regard a social project for the community, Che at one point tarred the rood from the Hospital Roundabout in Bamenda, through Ntarikon, to Sacred Heart College in the outskirt of Bamenda. The road also led to his compound. It should be noted that the road known as Che Street in Bamenda, was named by the public after Daniel Che. That was where he built his compound. As aforementioned, Che hailed from Mankon.

Did Not Groomed Any Successor In The Management Of The Business / No Partner As Well

But unfortunately, Daniel Che like Daniel Nangah did not groomed any of his children or close family member to eventually take over the management of the Family Business, when he would pass away. He also along the line did not bring in any partner or shareholder into his Family Business, who could have worked to sustain the building construction company when he passed away. And so when Che died, the Che  & Sons Company  followed him to the grave. In other words, Che & Sons Company failed to survive its Founder, because no concrete measure was put in place by the Founder when he lived, that could have helped to sustain the business after he passed away.