3 Cameroonians feature among the Top 100 most influential women in Africa

The July-August 2015 edition of Forbes Africa magazine published in Paris, issued a ranking of the 100 most influential women of the continent.

From Sport, science and technology to finance, media in the public sector, the diaspora to arts, there were illustrious ladies such as: Isis Nyongo'o, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the President of the transition in CAR, Catherine Samba Panza, the eldest daughter of the head of Angolan State, Isabel Dos Santos and the controversial International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda.

In this list, three Cameroonian figures in the diaspora are in the spotlight. They include journalists Denise Epotè and Marie-Roger Biloa and novelist Leonora Miano, winner of the Femina Prize in 2013 for her book La saison de l’ombre parue with Plon as the publisher.

Denise Epotè: the flagship of Cameroonian journalism in Paris

Denise Laurence Djengué Epoté, with family name, Denise Epoté was born November 22, 1954 in Nkongsamba in the Mungo and a graduate from École Supérieure de journalisme de Yaoundé (ESJY). The former news presenter on the former CTV (Cameroon Television) went to France in 1991 after her marriage to French Eric Durand, civil engineer and for a few years, Deputy Director of the great works of Cameroon. Recruited at TV5 monde, she has, by her immeasurable talent, climbed at all levels in this television channel before her promotion to the position of Director of TV5 Afrique Monde.

2. Marie-Roger Biloa: the Iron Lady

Owner of three titles (Africa Magazine international, Ici les gens du Cameroun, Ici les gens du Gabon) who are in Paris and even beyond, Marie Roger Biloa is unquestionably a voice that counts and a woman of action. A graduate of Germanic studies at the University of Paris 4, this Cameroonian by origin worked for Jeune Afrique before becoming editor-in-Chief, then took the direction of Africa International in 1991. She is also the President of the famous ‘Club Millennium’.

3. Leonora Miano: in the footsteps of Goncourt

All novelists who received the prix Femina just like Leonora Miano, eventually reach the Goncourt. She was born in 1973 in Douala, where she took part in her coursework at Libermann college, before flying to France. Leonora Miano was awarded the prestigious Femina Prize for her novel "Season of the shadow" on November 06, 2013. Thus becoming the second African to win the literary award of prime importance. A Prolific author, this novelist's talent has been described by journalist Catherine Simon of Le Monde, as a writer of serious and luminous prose.