{"id":87324,"date":"2025-10-04T19:35:25","date_gmt":"2025-10-04T19:35:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/access-bank-sos-award-d550000-to-10-gambian-start-ups"},"modified":"2025-10-04T19:55:00","modified_gmt":"2025-10-04T19:55:00","slug":"access-bank-sos-award-d550000-to-10-gambian-start-ups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/access-bank-sos-award-d550000-to-10-gambian-start-ups","title":{"rendered":"Access Bank, SOS Award D550,000 to 10 Gambian Start-Ups"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. <\/strong><\/span>Ten young Gambian entrepreneurs have received a combined D550,000 in funding at the finals of the YouthCAN Pitching Competition, jointly organised by SOS Children\u2019s Villages The Gambia and Access Bank Gambia.<\/b><\/p>\n

The competition, held at the SOS multipurpose hall in Banjul, marked the conclusion of a five-week journey that began with 50 contestants and narrowed down to 15 finalists.<\/p>\n

The top prize of D85,000 went to Momodou Jallow for his eco-friendly briquette start-up, designed to replace traditional charcoal and firewood with cleaner, affordable alternatives. The second prize of D65,000 was awarded to another finalist, while the remaining eight entrepreneurs each received D50,000 to support their businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis funding will go a long way in helping me establish the business. The idea was there, but now I am motivated, and it means a lot to me,\u201d Jallow said after receiving his award.<\/p>\n

Access Bank Gambia\u2019s Managing Director, Stephen Abban, said youth empowerment remains at the core of the bank\u2019s corporate social responsibility. \u201cThe future of every society lies with the young ones. If we don\u2019t support them today, the next Gambia will be a disaster,\u201d he said, urging other corporate institutions to back initiatives that create opportunities for youth.<\/p>\n

SOS children villages the Gambia National Director Jean-Pierre Kouamin described the initiative as the first fruits of a new five-year partnership with Access Bank. \u201cWe started with 50 empowered young people, and today 15 reached the finals. Ten are leaving with prizes, but all are winners because they gained knowledge that will guide them in the future,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n

Judges evaluated contestants based on the stage of their businesses idea, start-up, or scale-up looking at innovation, market research, financial projections, and growth potential. Over four weeks, participants underwent rigorous training and mentoring to refine their ideas before pitching them in the final.<\/p>\n

As the winners celebrated, organisers emphasised that the competition was not just about funding but about preparing young Gambians to succeed in business and reduce irregular migration.<\/p>\n

For Jallow, whose briquette innovation earned him the top spot, the journey is just beginning. \u201cWe can make it if given the chance,\u201d he said with a smile.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Gambia<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. Ten young Gambian entrepreneurs have received a combined D550,000 in funding at the finals of the YouthCAN Pitching Competition, jointly organised by SOS Children\u2019s Villages The Gambia and Access Bank Gambia. The competition, held at the SOS multipurpose hall in Banjul, marked the conclusion of a five-week journey that began with 50 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":87323,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-87324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"\nAccess Bank, SOS Award D550,000 to 10 Gambian Start-Ups - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ten young Gambian entrepreneurs have received a combined D550,000 in funding at the finals of the YouthCAN Pitching C ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/access-bank-sos-award-d550000-to-10-gambian-start-ups\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Access Bank, SOS Award D550,000 to 10 Gambian Start-Ups\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ten young Gambian entrepreneurs have received a combined D550,000 in funding at the finals of the YouthCAN Pitching C ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/access-bank-sos-award-d550000-to-10-gambian-start-ups\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-04T19:35:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-04T19:55:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/10\/sm_1759595072.546497.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/access-bank-sos-award-d550000-to-10-gambian-start-ups#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/access-bank-sos-award-d550000-to-10-gambian-start-ups\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Access Bank, SOS Award D550,000 to 10 Gambian Start-Ups\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-04T19:35:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-04T19:55:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/access-bank-sos-award-d550000-to-10-gambian-start-ups\"},\"wordCount\":375,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/access-bank-sos-award-d550000-to-10-gambian-start-ups#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/10\/sm_1759595072.546497.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Gambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/access-bank-sos-award-d550000-to-10-gambian-start-ups#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/access-bank-sos-award-d550000-to-10-gambian-start-ups\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/access-bank-sos-award-d550000-to-10-gambian-start-ups\",\"name\":\"Access Bank, SOS Award D550,000 to 10 Gambian Start-Ups - 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