Gambian startups turn local challenges into opportunities

Transcript

00:00In a country where over 60% of the population is under 25, innovation isn't just ambition,

00:11it is survival.

00:13And here in The Gambia, young entrepreneurs are building solutions made for their own

00:17communities.

00:18At the heart of this movement is Startup Incubator Gambia, a co-working and development

00:24hub offering what young talent often lacks, resources, mentorship and a space to build.

00:31From fast internet and production studios to business coaching and investor networking,

00:36the goal is to shape tomorrow's job creators, not job seekers.

00:40There is and there is still a high chunk of young people are without employment opportunities

00:45or without employed.

00:46And so we saw this gap and that was how the Startup Incubator Gambia was born.

00:51And since then, we have transitioned from just being a project of supporting 25 young

00:55people to training young people across the country.

00:58We can talk about over 10,000 young people that we have supported.

01:01One of the success stories incubated here is Mariama Sarge, founder of Messy Energy Solution.

01:07Her idea?

01:08Turning solar power into everyday prosperity.

01:12She designed solar powered multifunctional gas and mobile clean energy hubs that help food

01:18vendors refrigerate, cook and trade without ever needing electricity from the grid.

01:24In 2019, that was when I did my first entrepreneurship training with them.

01:28Without Startup Incubator Gambia, I would not have even registered my business.

01:31We started this Messy Solar multifunctional car in 2023 so that we can support food vendors

01:36who were unable to sell on the street due to the road expansion.

01:39While the impact is already visible, food vendor Musan Juve says the cart has changed her business

01:45entirely.

01:46Before I was selling in the street, but now because of this cart, I can sell a lot of things

01:52and it's healthy and you can do many things about this cart.

01:56Beyond the cart, Messy Energy provides solar installation, backup systems and maintenance

02:02for homes and businesses, a growing market in a country where power cuts are still common.

02:08But scaling innovation here isn't easy.

02:10From funding to manufacturing costs, Mariama says, growth requires strong backing.

02:16So right now we have only two carts in operation.

02:19We want to expand to have many carts and we also want to read rural Gambia.

02:23And right now if we want to read rural Gambia, we can't read them because we don't have the

02:25resources.

02:26These two are our major challenges.

02:28Creating awareness on how to use the carts and also how to be able to read these rural

02:32Gambians.

02:33Statista estimates the Gambia's youth unemployment rate at just under 11% in 2024.

02:39But with homegrown solutions like these, guided by startup incubator The Gambia, a new generation

02:44is proving they can build a future they want to live in.