Example: Walk us through a specific example(s) of how this solution makes a difference; include its primary activities.
Our initial recruits vary from elementary and secondary school dropouts, to a young girl who got pregnant out of wedlock shunned by the culture, to a few who have attempted clandestine migration or were exploring the industry, and some who lost close relatives and friends to the brutal migration process, to some who had previously involved in petty crime. After the initial training , capacity building, and mentoring with we noticed immediate shifts in attitude and morale, and a motivation boost. The fact that the cages are kept on location at the youth growers family houses, provide bonding and ownership, and pride by the entire family. Our young poultry farmers and their families begin to reveal dreams of a brighter and better future.
Impact: What is the impact of the work to date? Also describe the projected future impact for the coming years.
Saadis Group has built a network of youth out growers who received training and equipment to roll out their Micro poultry farms. These are the farms of the future as it spreads the aggregate risk to a diverse group of entrepreneurs with a singular interest that is to change lives and livelihoods positively by augmenting the local capacity of in country raised chicken. Many of them have now developed useful skills in bird care and rearing that will proof useful over their lifetime. The project will surely impact society positively by creating financially independent youths who will not be a burden to society.
Spread Strategies: Moving forward, what are the main strategies for scaling impact?
With this new project there will be an additional supply of 360,000 chicken into the market reducing the dependance on imported chicken towards the achievement of vision 2016 self food sufficiency. Outgrowers will have an increased income of $4.16/day in comparison to the less than average $1.25/day of most poor youth) and this will exponentially trickle downto affect the lives of 1,600 dependent of the out grower. the project will positively impact lives both at the level of the out growers and society in general. Crime rates will drop, sex tourism will not be a sole source of income
Financial Sustainability Plan: What is this solution’s plan to ensure financial sustainability?
Saadis Group is an equity funded company of 1,000,000 shares held by 2 shareholders with a 90% and 10% holding in the venture. The Company has organically grown bottom up from inception to date by employing the seed capital injected and additionally ploughing back profits into the venture to sustain the incremental growth registered over the years. The cost of growth is weighed against the need for viability and long term market position.
Marketplace: Who else is addressing the problem outlined here? How does the proposed project differ from these approaches?
Strong & growing demand for locally produced eggs and poultry meat which the market cannot currently meet. The biggest producer of poultry meat MPASS has a capacity of 100,000 birds/month but presently producing 30,000 which is only 3% of the market demand. The biggest producers of local eggs is WHYG Limited with a capacity of 25,000 eggs/day representing only 10% of the total daily consumption. There are also some small poultry growers. Using farming as a key part of their intervention, NGO- Concerned Universal provides main youth empowerment & employment services, along with a smaller NGOs.
Founding Story
Saadis Group ventured out as a traditional Poultry Farm and the frequent jobseekers at our doors were more than the capacity of our poultry outfit. The high incidence of unemployment, destitution, despair of the youth folk and the increasing numbers of young Gambian men and women dying horrendously in an attempt to reach the shores of Europe in a desperate search for employment and a better life, prompted my social entrepreneurial trait to devise innovative Micro Poultry scheme that lifts affected young people out of poverty by offering them a business that will earn then $4.16/day with a least cost capital injection and skill set, compared to the normal average of $1.25/day.
Team
Saadis Poultry Farm currently has a staff roll of 14. These include a Vet Tech, Farm Manager, Accountant, processors and distributors, auxiliary support and logistic staff. The Farm Manager, Vet tech and accountant are professional with academic and industry experience to deliver world class services. We are now poised to recruit an Out Grower Manager, and a Monitoring and Evaluation team to create a seamless transition on our new project.
Please confirm how you heard about the Unilever Awards:
Through the ASHOKA Email listserv
Please confirm your role in the initiative (eg Founder/co-Founder) and your organisational title:
Founder
Which of the 8 UN Global Goals (Sustainable Development Goals) pre-selected for this competition does your solution relate most closely to? [select all that apply]
Decent Work and Economic Growth.
Please provide examples of any previous entrepreneurial initiatives you have pioneered.
I started with promoting operations in groundnuts value addition,by investing in a groundnut milling factory that has a capacity of 15 tons per day. A travel agency and a foreign exchange Bureau. I also established Yaffal Feed Mill and quickly made. The company collaborates with VDS (premix company in Belgium) in formulation and monitoring of the feed production. The company also owns a groundnut Milling factory with a capacity of 15 tons per day.
Beyond your existing team, who else are you working with to achieve your objectives, eg partners, advisors, mentors?
Collaborating with VDS (premix company in Belgium) to develop the chicken feed; Collaborating with a variety of organizations including farmers, through National Enterprise Development Initiative (NEDI); Techno Avi- the builders of the bird cages; and MG University Africa (Itinerant School of Entrepreneurship) provides the Business & Management Training, capacity building, technical assistance, maual development, vet bird health evaluations, and vaccinations.