By Yero S. Bah
Entrepreneurs in the field of technology, better called technpreneurs or technopreneurs, are using creative minds to come up with innovative products and services. It could be noted that, in recent years, many young Gambians continue to initiate entrepreneurial organizations to not only create employment for themselves and source of income, but for other young Gambians in a country where unemployment stands at 42 percent- majority of those affected are the youth folks.
Mr. Hassan Y. Jallow is the Founder and Chief Software Architect of the Assutech, a software engineering Company that specializes in bringing technological innovation to improving the lives of people. The team develops tailor-made cross-platform software solutions for multiple-level organizations.
In an interview with Mansa Banko Online, the young techpreneur disclosed that they are creating software applications such as (Deka), a platform where individuals searching for houses or properties for rent could access to locate properties or houses for rent, comfortably.
As Jallow explained, they are also into creating virtual realities, artificial intelligence and more, adding they develop such applications to accomplish their mission of improving the lives of individuals in terms of access to real estate, banking, businesses, communication and trade products and services, conveniently in the Gambia.
The Assutech chief software architect said he had developed an incessant love for electronics and technology since childhood, he had strong passion for tech as early as nursery school.
“My dad bought me a stereo that I adored so much at the time, and my curiosity for electronics began from that stereo,” he recalled. He added that this was the first time he began to understand the concept of polarity, power and battery; that he started using the computer in 2005 besides, opening his first ever email account in the following year. Jallow stressed, “I was just crazy about computers as I think of them as giant or massive machines at the time.”
The Young African Leadership fellow also relished over his experience at Clark Atlanta University describing his internship at the Silicon Valley as one of the highlights of his life. The technologist noted that, he was groomed by powerful individuals of the tech industry while in the United States of America, under the Young African Leaders Initiative program. “My first work as an employee was at the Silicon Valley.”
The self-taught in IT man refreshed that he started his IT journey in his bedroom years back, and now has built a company that employs fourteen (14) people. He continued: “I used FrontPage to learn web development as well as online courses such as HTML, C+ and C++ programs to upgrade myself.”
On the status of techpreneurship in the Gambia, Jallow believes government should create the enabling environment, that is to say stable electricity, affordable Internet charges, and then people will thrive. He noted that technology has really improved in the Gambia.
Based on the current event of the coronavirus, Jallow held that, technology is not optional but mandatory in the lives of the people. He pointed out that things done online reduce costs and individual Gambians and institutions are realizing the importance of technology.
In his view, every company will get the pitch of the coronavirus which, he admitted, has actually affected their operation as they have also streamed-down their staff to work from home.
The Assutech founder called on Gambian youths to be reading more resources online as so to become self-taught coders, to develop the country into a tech-hub. He underlined that “the more we read, the more we build knowledge-led innovations”.
