It’s no mean feat for a young man from the small West African state of The Gambia to be honoured in tandem with influential people like Africa’s richest man, business magnate Aliko Dangote–Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dangote Group; respected African chiefs of State like Rwanda’s H.E. Paul Kagame and Kenya’s H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta; former Chief prosecuting attorney, first woman and African to head the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC,) Mrs. Fatou Bensouda Esquire; the famous Bobi Wine of Uganda; ex-international football star, Didier Drogba of Ivory Coast; Nobel Peace laureate and 24th President of Liberia who was the first-elected female head of state in Africa, Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Africa’s Iron-lady); and the well-known Senegalese-American singer and an entrepreneur, Mr. Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam—known mononymously as Akon, among others.
Mr. Mamadou Edrisa Njie has waded through all odds as a young pen-pusher in the Gambian media to become the founder of Global Youth Innovation Network (GYIN)-Gambia, a youth network that specializes in rural development, focusing on entrepreneurship, agribusiness, leadership, communication and information technology, community outreach programmes in rural areas.
According to a GYIN Gambia statement, a good number of their youth empowerment initiatives are based on best practices of income generation models, “which enables youth people to create and engage in sustainable small scale agribusinesses and entrepreneurship”.
The inspirational youth leader, who in his ardent desire to see enhanced agricultural and entrepreneurship development in the Gambia, founded Mansa Banko Online medium to highlight and promote agricultural activities, has etched his name in history by being part of the Award-winning Global Business & Lifestyle Magazine’s list of ‘influential Africans’, and it’s worth celebrating.
As the Tropics Magazine editorial team indicated in their statement, this is “the biggest list of all time– 500+ success stories from thought leaders, business and social elites, and trendsetters, and innovators who excel in several fields of activity and whose job it is to mark Africa as a leading investment destination. #AfricanDOers is also a call to action on social media to inspire a new generation of DOers by promoting a positive image of the African continent.”
This indicates that good efforts can’t go unnoticed; that whatever one is doing (good or bad), someone somewhere is watching, and some are inspired by it.
“In its teaser, the Tropics Magazine 11th Anniversary Issue featuring five (5) incredible women and trailblazers: Her Excellency Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, first female President of Mauritius, Ms. Nteleko Nomsa, CEO and founder of OS Holdings in South Africa, Ms. Geraldine Yema Robert, former basketball player, President of Yemaly and Goodwill Ambassador for the European Union commission in Gabon, Mrs. Seynabou Dia, Group CEO of Global Mind Consulting in Gabon and Ms. Karine Jean-Pierre, the first Black person to hold a chief of staff role for a vice-presidential nominee at the White House,” according to its officials.
“The Tropics Magazine recognizes the contributions of Africa’s most influential leaders who shape Africa’s image. This annual ranking yet again puts under the spotlight figures of Afro-optimism carrying, each in distinct but complementary fields, the hope of a dynamic Africa and land of creativity.”
We, at Mansa Banko Online, wish to congratulate Publisher and Managing Editor Njie on this great recognition outside the shores of The Gambia, and also encourage him to strive more for the improvement of the lives and livelihoods of the people, especially the rural Gambian farmers whose efforts are, for the most part, not adequately covered by the mainstream media.
We hope the ‘recognition’ will serve as a great source of encouragement for not only him, but also other Gambian and African youths, to constantly strive for excellence within Africa and beyond the continent.
We offer our hearty congratulations!
From Editor-in-Chief’s desk
