The president of the Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT), Samuel Eto’o Fils, has revealed why his Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), Set’Mobile, failed in 2014 — barely two years after its creation.
In an interview with Digital B Agency, the former captain of the Indomitable Lions disclosed that Set Mobile crumbled because he entrusted it to brilliant Cameroonians who did not share his vision.
With an initial investment of FCFA 4 billion, the company looked like a bank to those he had hired to manage it — and they chose to exploit it.
“I returned to Cameroon with a brilliant idea — start an MVNO. I had room to create many jobs. I invested my own money, not a bank loan. I took from my own pocket to start my business,” he said.
Riding on his global popularity from spells at Barcelona, Inter Milan and other top European clubs, Eto’o recorded an impressive early start with Set Mobile.
“When Set Mobile came, we had 400,000 subscribers. And all those big guys got scared. They said, ‘Oh, that child is dangerous,'” he revealed.
However, that rapid growth was short-lived. Those closest to him had other priorities.
“You know why I failed? I had a brilliant idea,” he said, adding that: “I was convinced that I was surrounded by brilliant Cameroonians — but these Cameroonians did not believe in me. They told themselves it was an easy bank to exploit, and they would milk it”.
The experience taught Cameroon’s all-time leading scorer a defining lesson about leadership. “I made a mistake of surrounding myself with competent people who did not have the same dream as me — to succeed,” Eto’o said.
He added that being out maneuvered by more formally educated associates ultimately pushed him back into the classroom. “Despite all my accomplishments, something was missing,” he stated, noting that: “…Those who sat beside me in class would ask, ‘We are here to be brilliant and make money — but why is he here?’ We had the same objective. They simply expressed it differently.”
Samuel Eto’o announced his international retirement in August 2014, having scored 56 goals in 118 appearances for the Indomitable Lions. He continued in club football until September 2019, retiring at 38 after representing 13 clubs, including Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Everton and Chelsea. Since 2021 he’s been at the helm of the FA after defeating former boss Seidou Mbombo Njoya.
