By Mariam Williams
The Proprietress of Dundugee Poultry Farm, Ms. Agie Isatou Gaye, has saluted the Youth Empowerment Project (YEP) for the mini grant support which enabled her to expand her poultry business.
In 2018, she received 250 broiler birds from YEP which she sold, and added a new consignment of 200 layer birds. According to the 24-year-old Proprietress, she sold their eggs, and subsequently, bought more birds to maintain her steady flow in the eggs supplying business.
The Youth Empowerment Project (YEP) is a EU-funded flagship project of the Republic of The Gambia implemented by the International Trade Centre in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment and the Ministry of Youth and Sports with the objective to improve skills, create jobs and generate income for Gambian youths.
In an interview with Mansa Banko Online, Ms. Gaye, a resident of Sukuta, West Coast Region (WCR), indicated that she was inspired to engaged in the poultry business by a pool of young poultry farmers she met during an entrepreneurship training.
She decided to start her poultry business with 150 broiler birds in 2016. In 2019, she was among 10 selected Rural Youth Award Winners of different categories, out of 30 nominees, and are entitled to receive a cash prize of D35,000.00 each and a certificate. Presently, her poultry is housing over seven (700) hundred layer birds.
Since the intervention of YEP in the country, the Dundugee Poultry Farm owner has benefitted from other YEP supported initiatives such as the Global Youth Innovation Network (GYIN) Gambia’s Rural Youth Award as the winner of ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year’ Award 2019; Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Information and Technology (ELIT 2018) National Youth Summer Camp; and also GYIN Gambia’s Youth Mentorship Programme on Enterprise Management.
She concluded by saluting YEP for changing her life in the field of entrepreneurship.
