In an interview live from the BBC headquarters in London, Cameroonian journalist and Internet entrepreneur Arrey Bate sat down with host Sophie Ikenya.
The August 20, 2019 show aired live with reports on the life sentencing of Ambazonia leader Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and 9 others captured in Nigeria and extradited to Cameroon, the current state of the Cameroon Anglophone crisis and ongoing actions from both government and separatists.
At the time, Arrey made Cameroon proud and was congratulated by a slew of media people with pictures and video snippets of the interview posted across social media
Just shortly before the BBC interview, Arrey was recognised among the British Council’s top 100 young journalists worldwide and invited to London
Fast forward to 2020 and the past few years, Arrey seemed to have been operating from the blues which begs the question on where he has been since the BBC interview and what he has been doing.
What is Arrey Bate doing now?
Short answer: A lot. He regularly shares about the journey of his journalism and entrepreneurial work either to his email list or social media. From the fierce reportings on his news website to building a community called Smart Friends which Arrey says he truly loves, the internet entrepreneur has been devoting more time to his work with more than 1,100 articles published on his website arreyb.com and a bunch of weekly emails.
Arrey Bate has written a book
Arrey Bate has written a book “How To Make Money, Build Right Relationships With Social Media”, a piece he said, was based on his experience starting and building his brand on social media since 2017.
As at the time of writing, Arrey said he’s sold over 3,000+ copies leading to a recognition as a best-selling internet book in Cameroon, quite an impressive stat for a first-time author
Arrey Bate has been a speaker at major events within and beyond Cameroon
In 2021, Arrey Bate was listed as one of the speakers of the 51st St Gallen Symposium, the world’s most relevant platform for cross-generational dialogue. Arrey shared his experience in the Cameroonian media sector and building his platform with the help of a small team.
He has also been a speaker at Mechigan State University’s African Tea Time event. The event that was streamed virtually on YouTube saw Arrey speak to a group of students and instructors on “Digital Economy and Development in Africa”
So, where is Arrey Bate now?
Short answer: He’s reportedly living in the United Kingdom. On his social media, Arrey has not posted about his whereabouts but speculations are that he’s been reporting from the United Kingdom.
In 2021, the Oxford Character Project, on their website, shared images when Arrey Bate and his team became winners of Oxford University’s Global Leadership Challenge, a feat which was hugely shared across the Cameroonian media.