UBTS Founder & CEO Armand Gaetan NGUETI is one of the four young African leaders who speak with one voice in The Yaoundé Statement, issued after the World Trade Organization’s 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) e-commerce side event.
UBTS International Corp. is proud to share that its Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Armand Gaetan NGUETI, is a co-author and co-signatory of The Yaoundé Statement — A Letter to the People and Youth of Africa, written by four young African visionary leaders on the occasion of the E-commerce for Rural Development side event of the World Trade Organization 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14).
The founder at the table
On 25 March 2026, Armand Gaetan NGUETI took the floor as an international speaker at the MC14 e-commerce side event, in the presence of Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, and of the Chair of MC14, Cameroon’s Minister of Trade. He signs the statement as Architect of Digital Passport in Trade and Agriculture & Global Policy, alongside three fellow signatories:
- Roland FOMUNDAM — Pioneer of Integrated Agricultural Systems;
- Achille DIPITA TOUBE — Visionary of Digital Marketplaces & ERP Solutions;
- Atim MBAH PATIENCE — Leader of Community-Based Agriculture & Rural Resilience.
The letter is dated 19 May 2026. It is the joint position of its four signatories; it is not an official document of the World Trade Organization.
Its four pillars — rural economies, digital identity and trust, inclusive marketplaces, and global trade made locally actionable — speak to the UBTS mission: to improve people’s lives through the transformative power of technology, and to empower communities.
The Yaoundé Statement
World Trade Organization 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) — E-commerce for Rural Development
The Yaoundé Statement by Young African Visionary Leaders Armand Gaetan NGUETI, Roland FOMUNDAM, Achille DIPITA TOUBE, Patience ATIM MBAH
A Letter to the People and Youth of Africa Yaoundé, Republic of Cameroon
To our fellow continental citizens, the dreamers of our cities, and the guardians of our rural lands,
Introduction: A Defining Moment
We write to you from Yaoundé, Cameroon, where the air today feels heavy with both the weight of our history and the electric possibility of our future. As we gathered as international speakers on March 25th, 2026, for the E-commerce side event of the World Trade Organization MC14, surrounded by policy experts and global leaders like Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, M. Mbarga Atangana Luc Magloire, The Chair of the World Trade Organization MC14, Minister of Trade of the Republic of Cameroon and Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director of the International Trade Centre, we realized something profound. The digital revolution we often discuss in technical terms is not actually about cables, code, or complex trade agreements. It is about the dignity of the father tilling a remote field in the sunrise and the untapped brilliance of a young woman coding in a crowded city hub. It is about ensuring that the global rules of the WTO finally have a local heart that beats for the person who actually produces the wealth of our soil.
The digital revolution is not about technology alone — it is about dignity, equity, and inclusion.
From Individual Vision to Collective Action
For many years, the four of us worked in our own corners, building our companies and chasing our visions in isolation.
Today, we stand united with a shared conviction:
The era of the lone entrepreneur is over.
We have decided to pool our sweat, our technology, and our dreams because we refuse to let Africa be a mere passenger in this digital age.
We are stepping forward as a coordinated ecosystem — not just as individuals, but as architects of a shared digital destiny.
Strategic Pillar 1: Reinventing Rural Economies
Our journey begins where life itself begins, in the community and the soil.
We are moving beyond the simple idea of greenhouses to build a future of true insurance and stability.
We are committed to:
- Bridging rural production with urban and global markets
- Structuring digital cooperatives
- Deploying climate-smart technologies
- Building data-driven agricultural ecosystems
By merging the wisdom of our ancestors with climate-smart technology, we are transforming the ancient uncertainty of farming into a stable, prosperous life.
Our objective is to transform agriculture into a predictable, bankable and scalable economic engine.
Strategic Pillar 2: Digital Identity & Trust Infrastructure
We also believe that technology should never feel like a foreign language; it should feel like home.
We are building systems that create trust and traceability across African markets.
Through the concept of a “Digital Passport” and the transparency of blockchain, we are giving a face and a story to every product made on this continent.
We aim to:
- Enable financial inclusion
- Restore trust in African goods
- Turn data into creditworthiness
Perhaps most importantly, we are working to break the chains that have kept our farmers “unbankable”.
Strategic Pillar 3: Inclusive Digital Marketplaces
This revolution is a failure if it only benefits the few.
We envision marketplaces as digital public squares.
We envision marketplaces that act as safe, transparent town squares where every creator is treated with respect and protection.
From a single creator to large-scale producers, every actor must have equal access to opportunity.
Strategic Pillar 4: Localizing Global Trade Frameworks
Global trade must become locally actionable.
We pledge to ensure that global trade is no longer a conversation happening to us, but one happening with us.
We commit to:
- Translating international rules into practical tools
- Bridging policy and entrepreneurship
- Supporting collaboration between governments and innovators
A Call for Collective Responsibility
Our leadership is not a claim to power, but a commitment to collective impact.
This transformation must be inclusive, scalable, and sustainable.
To the young dreamers in every corner of this continent, we say this:
Africa is not a market to be exploited exclusively by others; it is a garden for us to tend together.
Conclusion: Africa as a Builder
Africa is not a passive market — Africa is a builder of systems and a driver of global innovation.
We invite you to join us in turning our rural villages into global hubs and our cities into beacons of innovation.
With unity and purpose,
Armand Gaetan NGUETI — Architect of Digital Passport in Trade and Agriculture & Global Policy
Roland FOMUNDAM — Pioneer of Integrated Agricultural Systems
Achille DIPITA TOUBE — Visionary of Digital Marketplaces & ERP Solutions
Atim MBAH PATIENCE — Leader of Community-Based Agriculture & Rural Resilience
Tuesday, May 19th, 2026
A Unified Voice from Yaoundé, Cameroon.
