By Omar Bah
The founder and CEO of Njie Charakh World Market has announced the launch of an initiative targeted at creating jobs for 400 young people. CEO Moth Sarr, who has received lots of commendations for his support of Gambian women and the physically disabled community, said he now wants to focus on empowering youths.
Mr Sarr said he has opened business schools in Foñi, Basse, and Farafenni, enrolling over 1,300 women, and his business has already created employment for over 1,000 women across the country.
“We have opened shops for a good number of women; we trained and provided loans to several others to expand their businesses. We have just launched an initiative targeting four hundred young people. We have started registering the first 100 people who will be trained immediately after Ramadan and supported to start their own businesses. The idea is to create jobs for young people to curb unemployment and crime rates in the country. We believe the young people are not lazy; what they need is for us to talk to them to know what they want, and we endeavour to provide them opportunities to start doing something,” he said. He said the project will target young people at the Serekunda “Black Market”.
“I don’t believe in giving people fish; I feel proud when I help them learn how to fish,” he said.
Women
In the past two years or so, Sarr added: “We have taken 1,000 women out of poverty… Some of these women are widows, and others are from poor families.”
He said Njie Charakh World Market is planning to open a standard supermarket that would accommodate a good number of the women they trained.
“I want to urge the government to provide us with land for the construction of a trade centre and a business university. We have the idea, and with the needed support, we will be able to start something because the over 1,000 women we trained were able to make a profit of D3.2 million last year,” he said.
He extolled Gambian women for their support and understanding.
Sarr said the government should grant him an opportunity and help him achieve his dream. He said all his works have been self-sponsored.
“The majority of Gambian women want to do something, but they don’t have the needed support to start,” he said.
