By Mamadou Edrisa Njie
The founder of Peace Poultry, Mr. Yusupha Manneh, a 28-year-old Poultry farmer from Jinack Kajata, in the North Bank Region (NBR) has explained his successes to Mansa Banko Online after spending barely a year in poultry business.
A Youth Empowerment Project (YEP) Mini Grant Scheme beneficiary, Manneh was inspired by Modou Lamin Fatty alias ML Fatty, founder and manager of ML’s Poultry in Brikama, West Coast Region (WCR), to go into poultry business.
“After I learned from ML Fatty’s experience, I decided to construct a house and then applied for the mini grant which I was successfully granted,” he said.
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 2018, the Mini Grant Committee awarded Manneh D47,000.00, and as part of the disbursements of the said amount, he was supplied with 250 broiler birds, 18 bags of feeds and 10 drinkers to kick-start his business.
According to him, after that supply ran out, he ordered for another 350 broiler birds as his second batch. Manneh further narrated that his third batch coincided with the tourism season which eventually made the demands for his market to be higher.
“I decided to go for 500 broiler birds now to meet my market demand,” he said, adding that the past Ramadan was also a booming period for him.
His plan is to divide his poultry birds to accommodate them in two different houses, saying he’s made an order for another set of day-old birds to expand his business.
“I used some part of my profit to plough it back to the business and deposit the rest of the money in my savings account,” he asserted.
Manneh’s advise to the youth folk is to believe in themselves and engage in meaningful income generating activities.
“It is only we the youths who can take the lead in the development agenda of this country and make a difference,” he charged.
YEP Mini Grant Scheme
The Youth Empowerment Project (YEP), through the National Association of Co-Operative Credit Unions of The Gambia (NACCUG), brings a solution to grassroots entrepreneurs in need of support to start of capital to boost their businesses.
With the mini-grant scheme, Gambian youth with a solid business plan can apply for grants up to D47,000. The mini-grant funds will be disbursed to grantees either as cash or as assets, but asset disbursements have been given priority where feasible.
The mini-grant scheme aims to tackle the problem of access to finance identified as one of the most pressing bottlenecks faced by youth entrepreneurs to set up and grow their businesses.
For any enquiries, please follow link: https://www.yep.gm/opportunity/mini-grant-scheme
About NACCUG
The National Association of Cooperative Credit Unions of The Gambia (NACCUG), the apex body for all credit unions in The Gambia, was formed and legally registered in August 1991. It aims at promoting and supporting the development of viable Credit Unions through sound and market-based business strategies. It works to develop and make available the best financial and non-financial services to its members at reasonable cost and to fight poverty as a model financial co-operative.
NACCUG is licensed by the Central Bank of The Gambia as a Non-Bank Financial Institution. NACCUG is also a bonafide affiliate of the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) based in Madison in the United States (US).
NACCUG’s mission of sustainable development through credit unions complements The Gambia Government’s efforts in fighting poverty and socio-economic exclusion especially among the rural poor and marginalized groups in the country.
