Françoise Puene, also known by her pseudonym Mamy Nyanga, is a Cameroonian businesswoman and politician. She is the founding president of the Franco Hotels Group in

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. She has been a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

since

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

and a member of the political party the

Cameroon People's Democratic Movement The Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM; , RDPC) is the ruling political party in Cameroon. Previously known as the Cameroonian National Union, which had dominated Cameroon politics since independence in the 1960s, it was renamed in 1985 ...

(CPDM) since 1986.

Biography

Françoise Puene was born in

Bafang Bafang is a town and commune in Cameroon situated in the Haut-Nkam division of the West Province, Cameroon, West Province. It lies at the heart of the territory of the Bamiléké people, and has a population of roughly 33,324. (2012) Religion ...

in the grassfields of

Haut-Nkam Haut-Nkam is a department of West Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 958 km and as of 2005 had a total population of 191,600. The capital of the department lies at Bafang. Subdivisions The department is divided administ ...

in western Cameroon to a polygamous family, with her father having two wives. Françoise Puene grew up in a family of 15 children, eight of whom were from her biological mother. Her father, a

catechist Catechesis (; from Greek language, Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of Conversion to Christia ...

, was driver at the town hall and the owner of a drinking establishment. The children were raised them in the town of Bafang. Puene's mother was a member of the royal family of and a farmer. During the evenings, her father gathered his family for the ''tolly tolly'', long sessions of storytelling traditional epics. Françoise Puene holds a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

(MBA) from the

University of Nantes Nantes University () is a public university located in the city of Nantes, France. In addition to the several campuses scattered in the city of Nantes, there are two satellite campuses located in Saint-Nazaire and La Roche-sur-Yon. The university ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Career

Françoise Puene began her career in the food industry, then in textiles, service provision and finally in real estate.

Nurse and shopkeeper

Françoise Puene passed the Bafoussam nursing competition in 1986. She was subsequently recruited at the Ad Lucem hospital in Banka. Working part-time at the hospital, she accepted that a friend leave her some clothes bought in

Cotonou Cotonou (; ) is the largest city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The city lies ...

. Françoise Puene stayed to sell these fabrics to her network of contacts there. She traded by selling doughnuts and beans and finally went to Cotonou to buy the clothes that she resold in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

(

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

) as well as in Limbé and elsewhere in Cameroon. She finally left

and opened the largest bar in

Bafoussam Bafoussam is the capital and largest city of the West Region (Cameroon), West Region of Cameroon, in the Bamboutos Mountains. It is the 3rd most important (financially) city in Cameroon, after Yaoundé and Douala. The ''communauté urbaine'' (Urba ...

. She later moved to

Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the Capital city, capital city of Cameroon. It has a population of more than 2.8 million which makes it the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region (Cameroon), Centre Region o ...

to participate in public markets. She was imprisoned and spent 13 months in the central prison of

Douala Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region (Cameroon), Littoral Region. It was home to Central Africa's largest port, now being replaced by Kribi port. It has the country ...

, an experience that led her to create an association to help prisoners.

Hotelier and construction entrepreneur

From Bayam-sellam, she became manager of several companies, including the Hotel Franco. She asked , also from Haut-Nkam and whose adopted daughter she considered herself to complete the work on one of her buildings under construction in Yaoundé.

Style

Tall, slim and with short hair, she has a style of dress often including a dark jacket, shirt and tie which makes her stand out and earns her the nickname Mamy Nyanga ("coquette lady"). She uses her notoriety to motivate and coach young entrepreneurs in Cameroon and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Politics

She affirms her support for President

Paul Biya Paul Biya (born Paul Barthélemy Biya'a bi Mvondo, 13 February 1933) is a Cameroonian politician who has been serving as the second president of Cameroon since 1982. He was previously the fifth Prime Minister of Cameroon, prime minister under Pre ...

within the framework of the "Biyayists" movement, of which she is the national president. She is a member of the RDPC, like the late Françoise Foning, whom she considers a mentor.

Personal life

Françoise Puene is the partner of professor and former minister

Augustin Kontchou Kouomegni Augustin Kontchou Kouomegni (born 1945Profile on Kontchou at gov ...

. She is the mother of two children from her marriage to the Banka chieftaincy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Puene, Françoise Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Spouses of politicians Bamileke people Nantes University alumni Members of the Senate (Cameroon) Cameroonian women in politics Cameroonian businesspeople Cameroonian nurses Cameroonian hoteliers