Page title: About Benyella Njeko | Journalist, Technologist, Builder Meta description: From broadcast journalism to software development — the story behind Benyella Njeko’s 15+ year career building media, technology, and institutions in Cameroon and the UK.
From the studio to the server room
I didn’t set out to become a “digital marketer” or a “developer.” I started out chasing stories — as a Chief Technician at Chariot Radio and Television while I was still a journalism student at the University of Buea, filming outdoor events and running studio broadcasts. That instinct to understand how something works, and then to build the thing that makes it work better, has driven every move since.
Over the past two decades that instinct has taken me through journalism, film production, graphic design, database development, and software engineering — not as separate careers, but as one continuous habit of picking up whatever skill a project needs and mastering it well enough to ship.
The path
- 2003–2006 — Studied at the University of Buea, working as Chief Technician at Chariot Radio and Television while completing my BSc (Hons) in Journalism and Mass Communication.
- 2006–2008 — Lead Designer at Afro Vision Group, designing websites, interfaces, and brand materials.
- 2008–2023 — Fifteen years at Clone Multimedia Co. Ltd as Web and Graphic Designer, Video Producer, and Digital Marketer — and eventually running the company’s day-to-day operations.
- 2016 — Awarded the Chevening Scholarship by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
- 2017 — Completed my MA in New Media and Society at the University of Leicester, United Kingdom — the year I also began lecturing postgraduate students at the University of Buea on digital environments and online persuasion.
- 2019–present — Joined Buea Institute of Technology (BIT) as Instructor and Digital Marketer, where I manage the school’s web presence, lecture Digital Marketing, Video Production, Database Management, and PHP/JavaScript, and built the BIT Student Portal.
- Ongoing — President and Trainer at Technology Initiatives for Development (TI4D), running an incubator for tech startups and training the next generation of designers and developers.
Along the way I’ve produced field documentation for UNDP, run communication campaigns for SNV Netherlands Development Organisation, presented workshops on digital rights and data protection for the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Central Africa, and trained journalists for the Christian Blind Mission on improving the visibility of their online reporting.
Why I build
If there’s a thread through all of this, it’s that I’m happiest at the start of something — sketching the first version of a website, standing up a new network, drafting the curriculum for a course that doesn’t exist yet. Today that shows up in the ventures I run alongside my teaching and client work: an ISP network, an NGO incubator, and a remote services practice serving clients across the UK, US and Europe.
Education
- MA, New Media and Society — University of Leicester, United Kingdom (2017)
- BSc (Hons), Journalism and Mass Communication — University of Buea, Cameroon (2006)
- GCE Advanced Level — Bilingual Grammar School, Buea, Cameroon (2003)
- GCE Ordinary Level — Sacred Heart College Mankon, Bamenda, Cameroon (1999)
Certifications
- Social Media Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses — Alison.com (2018)
- E-Commerce: Introduction to Internet Marketing Strategies for Business — Alison.com (2017)
- From Story to Screen: Producing a Professional Short Film — Udemy.com (2017)
Recognition
- Chevening Scholarship, UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (2016)
Languages
English (fluent, spoken & written) · French (very good spoken, good written) · Pidgin English (fluent spoken, good written)