FOOD-MAC ENGINEERING SARL is an enterprise that conceives designs and fabricates solar powered digital automated machines for food production and processing. We produce and sell solar digital automated dryers for cassava and sweet potatoes flour production, vegetables, spices as well as incubators for hatching eggs. Our machines are digital in control, thereby employing less human interventions during usage. This saves time while reducing pain and increasing productivity. We program our own microcontroller computer chips using advanced electronic programming to control important drying parameters such as temperature, humidity, air circulation and turning. We apply the concept of Internet of things so a poultry farmer can be notified if water in their incubator will get finish in 3 three hours. They can thus come and refill the water before it completely gets finished so as to curb the losses in produced chicks from hatched eggs. A digital solar powered automated dryer or incubator costs from 300,000 FCFA depending on capacity. Realized that unlike enterprises and organizations, individuals and households find it difficult to afford our digital machines for this amount but are willing to process their products at a fee of up to 5000 FCFA. We therefore decided to start creating mini food processing centers where they can dry, incubate or process their products at a fee. Our mission is to reduce pain and time wastage in food production and processing by supplying digital machines. We receive raw materials such as metals, solar accessories, electric motors, sensors and microchip materials from suppliers in Douala and Nigeria. Relocated our enterprise from Douala to Bamenda in 2021 because we get raw materials nearer in Nigeria cheaper than in Douala.

I realized that at least 100,000 farm equipment and machines including dryers for cassava and sweet potatoes flour production, vegetables, spices as well as incubators for hatching eggs are needed monthly by food processing/production entrepreneurs and farmers in Cameroon. Unfortunately Chinese machines come with poor after sales service such as lack of spare parts availability, installation and maintenance service. These machines also powered by petrol or grid electricity. Grid electricity is highly unreliable in Cameroon characterized by frequent cuts while petrol engines are harmful to the environment and requires lots of servicing and maintenance. There's thus need for machines that use affordable environmentally friendly energy sources. Local technicians supply dryers that produce dried products with moulds, odours, dark colours and destroyed nutritional value making them unfit for further use especially flour production. Their incubators also produce less than 70 percent of chicks from hatched eggs. With my team we realized that the cause of poor quality products from machines from local technicians is due to lack of automation digital technology in control of important drying parameters such as air circulation, humidity, temperature, turning. There's thus need for advanced electronic computer programming to produce computer chips (microcontrollers) that can solve this problem. Unfortunately local technicians are not well trained in this area. Few engineers trained in Renewable Energy and Agricultural Machinery have ventured into electronic digital programming of chips yet they are not well vest with practicals I also realized that households and individuals unlike Organizations and enterprises find it difficult to afford one full machine for 300,000 FCFA but are willing to process their foods at a fee of up to 5,000 FCFA

In addition to our solar powered machines design and fabrication unit, we have a vision to create at least 100 solar powered food processing centers by 2027 in major quarters in Cameroon. Each center will be managed by 2 persons. More workers will thus be needed in our machines production unit to produce machines that can serve the food processing centers. To have enough managers and workers in our food processing centers and machines production unit, we will have to create a vocational training center where trainees learn vital business management and income generating skills such as computer programming, coding, welding, electricity, renewable energy systems, mechanical fabrication, plumbing etc. We will train at least 1000 students yearly. They graduate in 1 to 2 years depending on their entry qualifications. About 20 percent of graduates will serve in our machines production unit and food processing centers after graduation. The fees for training yearly will be 250,000 FCFA. The vocational training center will operate thirty different departments in digital technology, business, renewable energy technology and agriculture, each headed by at least two staffs. Thus we will recruit at least 60 workers/trainers at the vocational training center and 200 others to manage our food processing centers. At least 260 youths will be recruited in our business making turnovers of at least 350,000,000 FCFA yearly. We will also make money by selling digital solar powered machines to entrepreneurs, farmers and organizations like MIDENO that buys hundreds of machines yearly to support food processing and production entrepreneurs.

With a master's degree over 6 years of practical experience in Renewable Energy and Agricultural Machinery Automation Engineering as well as my Cofounder, Engonwie Sharon Mbachan, and other team members, we were able in 2019 to produce digital automated dryers and incubators for eggs. Our dryers produce bright coloured, odourless products with preserved nutritional value without moulds that are fit for further processing. Our incubators produce at least 98 percent of chicks from hatched eggs. These machines are powered both by solar energy and the grid. Our machines are affordable because we program our own microcontrollers so we sell cheaper from 300,000 FCFA depending on capacity. Owners of our incubators are able to receive text messages if water in their incubator humidifier is low so they hurry home and refill before low quantities of chicks are produced from hatching. Our machines are being demanded by hundreds of individuals, enterprises as well as organizations such as MIDENO that support food entrepreneurs and farmers yearly with hundreds of machines. MIDENO has shortlisted our enterprise to be their supplier of solar powered post harvest and pre harvest machines from 2026. We have been operating FOOD-MAC ENGINEERING SARL since 2019 but only got incorporated in 2021 as a limited liability company. I realized from the field in 2023 from market research that individuals find it difficult to afford a machine for 300,000 FCFA but can process their products at a fee of up to 5,000 FCFA. We decided to seize this great opportunity to create solar powered mini food processing and incubating centers where households and individuals can dry, incubate or process their foods at a fee. 2 centers are currently operational in Bamenda of the North West Region of Cameroon. The vision is to create at least 100 such centers by 2027