By Mariam Saine
As part of its core mission, five young Gambian entrepreneurs described as ‘Rural Youth Champions’, are in Dakar, Senegal for a regional visit courtesy of the Global Youth Innovation Network Gambia Chapter (GYIN Gambia Chapter) and bankrolled by the Youth Empowerment Project (YEP).
The regional visit to neighbouring Senegal from 26th – 31st May 2019, is part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) inked in 2018 between the International Trade Centre (ITC) in Geneva and GYIN Gambia Chapter with the collaboration of the Government of the Republic of The Gambia.
The team, headed by the Executive Director of GYIN Gambia, Mr. Mamadou Edrisa Njie, includes other members of the Secretariat, namely the Financial Controller, Mariam Saine and Rapporteur, Ida L.B. Ceesay, as well as the five young entrepreneurs.
It could be noted that ten (10) agribusiness sectors and agro-ventures have been earmarked for the visit by the team members during their sojourn in Dakar, in order to improve their entrepreneurial skills.
These places include Institut de Technologie Alimentaire – an Institute for Agribusiness Technology, WA YAbi, Reseau de Distribution de Produits Agroalimentaire Senegalaise el Africains -Senegalese and African Agribusiness Distribution Network, Senior Expert Technique Clinique des Plantes GROUPE ELEPHANT\ANT VERT – Senior Expert Technical Clinic Plantes GROUP ELEPHANT/ANT GREEN, First Jet Sarl, and AFRIWIDE Mermoz Pyrotechnique, etc.
The selected five Rural Youth Champions were among the winners of the GYIN Gambia’s Rural Youth Awards 2017 and 2018, respectively. Their trip to the French-
speaking West African nation is expected to expose them to different places where they could learn from other established entrepreneurs and also form professional networks.
RURAL YOUTH CHAMPIONS
Alfu M. Sarr is the Chief Executive Officer of Noble Business Initiative (NBI), a Cashew and Apiculture {beekeeping} Venture in North Bank Region (NBR) of The Gambia. He’s a winner of the ‘Young Business Innovation of the Year 2018’ award.
Since the establishment of NBI, he has benefited from numerous professional training programmes, the National Agricultural Land and Water Management Development Project (Nema) under its African Development Bank’s P2RS-Building Resilience project inter alia Nema/P2RS, Gambia Chamber of Commerce (GCCI), Empretec, National Association of Cooperative Credit Unions in Gambia (NACCUG) and GYIN Youth Mentorship Programme.
CEO Sarr is a YEP Mini-Grant Scheme beneficiary, and he is the current elected Chairperson of Young Entrepreneurs’ Association in North Bank Region (NBR).
Ms. Hatta Boye is a Gambian Commercial Farmer growing rice, beans, and groundnut in Central River Region South (CRR South). She won GYIN Gambia’s award for the ‘Young Commercial Farmer of the Year 2018.’
Currently, Ms. Boye is studying English and Social & Environmental Studies level 3 at the Gambia College.
She also benefited from an entrepreneurship training session- GYIN Gambia’s Youth Mentorship Programme on Enterprise Management 2018/19.
Ms. Fatou Manneh owns F. Manneh’s Enterprise, an Agribusiness Enterprise in Lamin, West Coast Region. She is the winner of ‘Young Business Partner of the Year 2017’.
She served as a Youth Speaker during the last year GYIN Gambia’s Entrepreneurship Leadership Information & Technology (ELIT) 2018 National Youth Summer Camp, geared towards inspiring the young ones.
Manneh also attended the GYIN Gambia Creating Opportunities for Rural Youths (CORY) in 2015 and three months’ pilot Youth Mentorship Programme on Enterprise Management 2017.
Mr. Sang Mendy is the Proprietor of Faith Poultry Farm in Kandonku Village, West Coast Region. He won the ‘Young Commercial Farmer of the Year 2017’.
Apart from being a poultry farmer, he is a qualified teacher at the Kandonku Lower Basic School.
Mendy is a beneficiary of the Youth Empowerment Project mini-grant scheme, and has attended several training programs from NEDI, GYIN Gambia Youth Mentorship Programme on Mentorship Program 2017 and NACCUG.
Mr. Abdoulie Drammeh is the Founder and Manager of Kaira Garden, a horticultural venture in Gunjur Berending, West Coast Region. He won GYIN’s award for the ‘Young Commercial Farmer of the Year 2017’.
He’s among the first lucky cohort of YEP mini-grant of $1000 to expand his Micro-enterprise in 2018.
Drammeh has participated in a series of Entrepreneurship training programmes, including ELIT 2017, Youth Mentorship Programme on Enterprise Management 2017, Empretec and NEDI.
