The 1-million dalasi fund for young entrepreneurs was launched to tackle issues related to covid -19 in The Gambia.
The three winners were: Gisqo, Outboost Media and Analytics and Le Jumbo. They received D313, 000, 429, 000 and 257, 500 respectively.
The EU –funded Youth Empowerment Project in partnership with the lord mayor of KMC, Talib Ahmed Bensouda, and the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) set up a million dalasi fund to sponsor solution to help overcome difficulties.
The fund will support innovative young entrepreneurs who have developed smart and effective business solutions that tackle socio-economic challenges caused by covid-19 and help The Gambia’s economy adapt and recover.
Talib Ahmed Bensouda, mayor of Kanifing Municipal Council, said his council is committed to stopping the spread of the coronavirus and mitigating the impacts of the global pandemic on the livelihood of residents.
“I encourage all those who applied for the fund to continue working on their ideas and business plans to take a step toward overcoming the hurdles placed before you and continue to strive for your goals. Our municipality needs your ideas and leadership to solve the problems of today and tomorrow”, he told applicants.
Mayor Bensouda thanked those who made the project possible, including EU Ambassador to The Gambia, International Trade Centre and The Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry as well as members of the selection committee.
‘’Together, we can stop the spread of covid-19 and mitigate its impact on the economy of KM’’, he concluded.
The EU ambassador to The Gambia, Attila Lajos described KMC mayor’s challenge as a great initiative to tackle some of the challenges by developing concrete solution and providing seed capital to implement them.
“More than ever, partnership is essential in this time of crisis,” he stated, saying “the more we work together, the better we will weather the crisis”.
He expressed confidence that the solution that has been selected will be instrumental in addressing the issues identified in Kanifing Municipality.
He pointed out that a lot of the socio-economic challenges that have been triggered by the covid-19 pandemic will stay with us for a longer period of time while the crisis causes a lot of pain. It also offers an opportunity to re-define the way we do business; saying that he hopes these solutions will also contribute to building The Gambia of tomorrow.
