YEP Mini Grant Scheme Success Stories
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YEP MINI GRANT SCHEME 10 ENTREPRENEURS’ STORIES TO INSPIRE YOU Kebba Tiyana Mam S. Danso Amet Faal Isatou Jobe Dawda Kah Muhammed Bobb Adama Bittaye Muhammed Sanneh Bubacarr Jaiteh Masamba Ceesay 1 ebba Tiyana is a native of Tankong other two are female. He was able to maintain Kunda, Sami District, Central River the four staff in his farm after receiving the KRegion North and a young farmer Youth Empowerment Project (YEP project) aged 29. Mini Grant to the tune of D47, 000.00. Tiyana Mr. Tiyina is the founder said that the support and manager of Tiyana’s from the YEP Mini Grant Organic Farm Enterprise. “I am honored and Scheme enabled him to He is into vegetable happy to be one of fence his farm and this will production both in the dry the YEP Mini Grant help him to increase his and rainy season in his production this year. “This native village. awardees and my year- 2018 rainy season, During the dry season, Mr life has significantly I am expecting a bumper Tiyina cultivates pepper, harvest. I’m expecting onion and cabbage while improved for the D60, 000.00 from my in the rainy season; he reason that I have water melon, D35, 000.00 is into cassava, maize, benefitted from the from my cassava and D29, potatoes and water 000.00 from the potato,” melon production. Mini Grant.” he asserted. He earns a decent living Last year, he explained through farming thus supports himself and that he had a problem with his garden his family with some basic needs. because it was not fenced but with the Currently, Mr. Tiyana is working with four fencing of the garden, he is now able to young people of whom two are male and the control animals from invading the garden. 2 am S. Danso lives in Jarumeh back in the village after spending four (4) Koto village, Sami District, Central years in the Greater Banjul Area. MRiver Region North and she is a “I’m happily doing business in the village young lady aged 32 who is into tailoring and and I don’t admire my fellows in the designing of all classes of outfits. Greater Banjul Area simply because, I’m Ms. Danso is the owner making good profit in of Danso’s Tailoring and “I’m hopeful that one my business,” says Ms Creation. She opened her Danso. new tailoring and creation day, I’ll become one During the Muslim business in the village of the biggest young festivities (Tobaski and on 31st May, 2018 after Koriteh feast), she made receiving the YEP Mini entrepreneurs in my profits of more than D20, Grant Scheme support. region.” 000.00 after paying her Ms. Danso has employed staff and taking care of two boys who are all her other needs. Gambians and she is working with them “I can proudly say that, now I am excited since she established her business in her and my life has changed with the three (3) native village. tailoring machines, cupboard and chairs I “When I came across the Mini Grant got from the Mini Grant support. I am able to advertisement on the social media- open a new tailoring shop in my village and Facebook, I decided to apply. Today, I’m employ two Gambian youths,” she added. 3 met Faal is a young man who lives Narrating further, Mr. Faal stated that after in Kaur Touray Kunda. His is 35, and graduating from senior school, he was Aoperates a Consumer shop named unable to secure a job, and he decided to “Black Star Shop” in Kaur Wharf Town, travel to Mauritania in search of greener Lower Saloum, Central River Region North. pasture. Mr. Faal, who is a graduate of Kaur Senior In Mauritania, “I learned how to become a Secondary School, was businessman and with able to create a job for “It came to a point the knowledge I gained himself after benefiting there, today it helps me from the YEP Mini Grant when I wanted to improve my business.” Scheme. close my shop and After receiving the mini “Before I received this become jobless, but grant support, he made support, I was seriously a profit of D10, 000.00 struggling to maintain my I was lucky to be which he invested into business because I didn’t rescued by the Mini farming. have enough goods to In this year’s rainy sell. My shop was empty Grant Scheme.” season, he is able to but with the Mini Grant have his own groundnut support, I purchased a lot of stock,” he said. farm and for the first time making good He lamented the lack of financial support profit from his business. He uses part of from his family to expand his business for that money to register his business, open a the past three years - thanking the YEP mini bank account and is supporting his family. grant for coming to his aid. 4 satou Jobe, a native of Farafenni, she has attracted a good number of North Bank Region (NBR), is also a customers in Farafenni. Iyoung lady aged 21, who is operating At her restaurant, she prepares breakfast, a restaurant dubbed lunch and dinner. The mini Joben’s Restaurant. grant support accorded her Ms. Jobe specializes in “With the support the opportunity to open her catering. She has vast of the Mini Grant, own restaurant in Farafenni experience in preparing and be able to employ three delicious fast food for my dreams have young ladies to assist in her customers. She come true. I am the business. Her business previously worked at – able to have my started in March 2018. McCaesar’s Restaurant According to her, the at West Field before own restaurant and entrepreneurship trainings being employed at the employed three she benefitted through famous Kairaba Beach Empretec ETW training Hotel in Senegambia (3) other girls on coupled with her experience area. fulltime.” has immensely helped in With her experience in effectively managing her cooking local dishes, own restaurant. 5 awda Kah is a young Having the YEP Mini Grant entrepreneur aged has boosted both his poultry “The chicken D33 who specializes and vegetables farming. manure has also in poultry production and “I received a support of gardening at Lamin village D47, 000 from the grant and boosted my garden in Kombo North. after selling my chicken, production and I’m The Dream Farm is his I made revenue of D57, expecting good own initiative to venture 000.00. Which I ploughed into poultry and vegetables back into the business by sales from my production when he was in buying more chickens and garden this season.” Aruba, Netherlands. seedlings for my garden,” He spent eleven (11) years he enthused. “The knowledge and in Netherlands working The chicken drops have experience I got on poultry and vegetable also saved him from buying outside- Europe, is gardening owned by his fertilizer. His garden is now host. He has been inspired an organic garden simply the success of my to start his own business because he does not apply business, coupled after learning that farming is any other fertilizer but only a profitable business. the drops from chickens with the support Mr. Kah decided to return to and his compost. of the Mini Grant The Gambia to venture into Scheme.” farming as his profession. 6 uhammed Bobb is a ration because of the lack of young poultry farmer adequate feed.” “I was having Maged 30. He lives in According to him, his family a serious New Yundum. supported him with D20, Muhammed Bobb’s & Bros is 000.00 as a loan to buy feed problem a registered business which but that was not enough and feeding my started operations since 1st it got him frustrated. With November, 2015 with 200 the approval of his mini grant chickens layers. In December 2015, he application, he is now able but with the expanded his business with to take care of his poultry intervention of 200 broilers. production. The Mini Grant Owned and managed by provided him with 21 bags of the YEP Mini himself, Mr. Bobb said he feed of 50kg for his poultry Grant, I was applied for the YEP Mini Grant farm. to be supported with chicken Every day, he collects six saved. Without feeds. crates of egg and makes a this support, “When I was applying for the monthly savings of D3, 500.00 it would YEP Mini Grant, I was having after all overhead spending. problems with daily feeding of Today, he is in a position to have been a my chickens,” he explained, support his family with a bag catastrophe.” adding: “sometimes, I don’t of rice and sponsor his siblings even give them the proper with school materials. 7 dama Bittaye resides in Tujereng business due to financial difficulties. village, West Coast Region and is Madam Bittaye was indulging in door-to- Athe owner of A2 & Sons Enterprise. door business to support herself. She is 34. She is engaged in selling of According to her, the monitoring and site food condiments, cosmetics, baby cloths visits by the Mini Grant Officer has helped and materials as well as school learning her to perform very well in keeping proper materials. records. Starting her business with only D15, 000.00 with support from her family, Mrs Bittaye was “I’m very much able to open a small shop in her native village selling second hand clothes, detergents, appreciative with ladies wears etc. the support of the She expanded her shop after receiving the YEP Mini Grant and also employed a young Mini Grant.