At the heart of this transformation lies the interesting story of David Jeng. His success stories so far highlight the immense potential that exists for young entrepreneurs in The Gambia. It demonstrates how his creativity, resilience, and dedication can lead one towards building successful ventures that not only generate profits but also create positive social impact.
Interacting with a Professional with experience in innovation, consultancy, human capital management and organizational development leaves you with a strong impression that David Jeng is indeed an asset.
Reflecting on his personal journey, Jeng emphasised that thriving in The Gambia’s volatile business landscape requires a unique blend of resilience, tenacity, and ethical conviction.
As a management consultant with years of experience, Jeng has been part of several public and private sector advisory engagements involving strategy, process design & Improvement, and capacity building & change management.
Over the years, his firms have earned a strong reputation for promoting institutional strengthening, transparency, and accountability.
He said: "The management consultancy industry is knowledge-based and expertise-driven, therefore intentionality about capacity building and investment in personal development is very key."
Driven by a desire to create impact on a broader scale, Jeng also expounded his base into supporting entrepreneurs. Expert entrepreneurs are a rare breed, gifted in unique ways.
Entrepreneurship can be difficult but successful Gambian entrepreneur Jeng believes entrepreneurship is more than just starting a business and making money. Unsurprising, Jeng always find every opportunity to share his personal journey to success as an entrepreneur and the challenges he faced along the way to budding business enthusiasts.
David began his career in youth and entrepreneurship organizations, founding Member of the Young Entrepreneurs Association of The Gambia and serving as Program Coordinator for Young People in the Media. In 2014, he was selected as an Apprentice Trainer with Empretec Gambia, certified as a trainer in 2015, and later interned with Sahel Invest Management International.
He then joined Startup Incubator Gambia as Business Support Coordinator, where he helped establish the country’s first business incubation hub, designed accelerator programs, mentored startups, and contributed to the creation of more than 180 jobs between 2015 and 2018.
Building on this experience, he founded Bliss Executives, a management consultancy supporting SMEs through business services, investment facilitation, project financing, and IP management, and co-founded the Gambia Disability Impact Trust Fund to expand access to finance for persons with disabilities.
Alongside enterprise development, he has also led community initiatives through the Give1 Project Gambia, including ICT camps for girls, community farms, youth leadership programs, and the Akon Lighting Africa pilot in The Gambia.
Consulting for leading global institutions such as the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), International Trade Centre (ITC), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the European Union, and the World Bank, has also positioned Jeng to be a force to be reckoned with.
Widely recognized as a thought leader in intellectual property and innovation policy, David has served as an International IP Expert for WIPO, where he led the IP+ Accelerator for SMEs in The Gambia, trained women entrepreneurs across Africa under the IP Agribusiness Program, and played a central role in the African Regional Youth Conference on IP, which engaged youth from more than 45 countries. He contributed to the drafting of The Gambia’s Intellectual Property Act of 2021 and is a member of the National Intellectual Property Council.
The world is witnessing a technological revolution unlike anything ever seen before. This digital wave isn’t just a passing trend; it’s a fundamental shift that presents a wealth of opportunities for The Gambia. Imagine a young Gambia entrepreneur brimming with a groundbreaking idea. Jeng believes that there's a need to create a startup-friendly environment that empowers young innovators to turn their ideas into reality.
His words of advice are premised on his entrepreneurial journey in The Gambia which spans about 15 years. Jewelled with simple yet practical business lessons. From his career at Sahel to Startup Incubator Gambia, Jeng was instrumental in setting up the first business incubation hub. Jeng who outlined a bold blueprint for entrepreneurial success in The Gambia, urged young business leaders to adopt a composite mindset inspired by the strengths of successful business tycoons in Africa.
He further noted that innovation often means entering markets with little precedent, hence entrepreneurs must be bold enough to pioneer solutions where none currently exist.
Jeng advocated for a mindset of proactive disruption, urging founders to lead change rather than react to it.
He said: "Those intending to make it as entrepreneurs in this highly competitive and harsh operational environment should acquire basic and business education, undertake feasibility studies, consult professionals and embrace the limitless possibilities of ICT. They should eschew the get-rich-quick mentality, understand the principle of sowing and reaping."
