The challenges of my youth in Cameroon taught me early that education is the key to real change. At 18, I came to Germany, where I worked as a garbage collector, warehouse worker, and bouncer alongside my studies to survive. After earning my PhD in Economics and a professorship at the Sorbonne, I felt that my knowledge was needed where opportunities are most unequally distributed. In 2018, I returned to West Africa and founded the Kabakoo Academies, where we combine traditional knowledge with digital innovation to open new perspectives for young people in West Africa. As Chief Learning Officer, I develop evidence-based educational approaches that solve local problems through local talent. In the ChanceMaker Foundation, I see a valuable partner to carry forward what I deeply believe: that every person has the right to a self-determined life, regardless of where they were born.