Introducing Cameroonian Entrepreneur NJ Ayuk
NJ Ayuk is an entrepreneur who is from Cameroon. He’s the managing partner of Centurion Law Group, which is based in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. His law firm specializes in energy and the financial industries. Among the largest companies he has provided his services to is Aranto Petroleum, which is an oil exploration business.

He is a graduate of Maryland College Park, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in government and politics. He then attended William Mitchell College of Law to earn a law degree. NJ Ayuk also has an MBA he earned at the New York Institute of Technology. His career began at BakerBotts LLP. He worked for Vanco Energy before starting his law firm.

While attending Maryland College Park, his mentor was Dr. Ron Walters. This person was a deputy campaign manager for Jesse Jackson. NJ Ayuk says this mentor got him interested in justice and human rights campaigns. He was taught that attorneys either help people or are parasites. He’s used his education and legal experience to promote economic growth and empowerment in communities.

AJ Ayuk says he got involved in Africa’s energy sector because he thinks most of the continent’s problems stem from the waste of natural resources. Additionally, many communities in resource rich areas don’t have the education and training they need to become successful. He saw that Africans weren’t party to the deal making structure in the energy industry. Westerners, he said, shouldn’t be the only ones to profit from Africa’s natural resources.

When starting out in the oil and gas sector, he didn’t know much about it. However, he knew he had the skills and background to prosper in it. While this sector didn’t have very many people from Africa in decision-making roles, he saw opportunities as long as he was willing to compete and win. He saw that African governments and businesses were always getting taken advantage of by big oil companies and wanted to change this dynamic.

Centurion Law Group now has several offices across Africa. It’s one of the most successful law firms involved in commercial law practices on the continent. His parents taught him to have an entrepreneurial spirit, and this was further enhanced by what he learned while attending college.

When he started his law firm, the governments and companies in Africa used only American and European firms. He saw that this led to these African organizations getting taken advantage of. NJ Ayuk was determined to make a positive difference so that Africans would have a seat at the table of large energy deals.