She’s ready to embark on an entrepreneurial adventure, whatever the cost. Marie Françoise Niouky is a young woman brimming with energy who strongly believes in her project.

She attended primary and secondary school in the Kolda region. Having failed to obtain her baccalaureate diploma, she immediately moved to the capital of Dakar to take a competitive examination, which she passed with flying colors, at the CSFPIAA (Centre sectorielle de formation professionnelle aux métiers des industries agro-alimentaires).

She then took a 2-year training course, which enabled her to discover the professional opportunities she could seize on leaving the center. In her first year, she had the opportunity to do internships with companies operating in the agri-food sector, such as Pirogue Bleue and Sairvair Sénégal. The accumulation of these two experiences would later give rise to a project idea. During her second year, she had the opportunity to sign up for the Challenge program, which she discovered through her director, in collaboration with the Synapse team.

Marie’s confidence is growing, and she’s beginning to see the light of day on her future prospects. The Challenge program has opened up the field of possibilities for her to implement her project idea, which she had never dared to express. Her parents, she tells us, are the cause of this lack of assertiveness. “Every time I tell them about my project, my parents try to discourage me. They talk me out of it so that I’ll go and apply like my peers for a stable job; something I won’t accept, because I intend to rise to the challenge and prove to them that I’ll succeed.”

It was with great interest that she then followed the program’s training courses to be able to apply them to her project, which she finally decided to manage. “My project involves the marketing of fish products, and since I’ve done the lessons on project planning, marketing strategy and so much more, I’ve started to study my market by canvassing hotels, restaurants and other potential customers who will be interested in my products. So far, the prospects have bought in and I’m going to be able to expand my business very quickly.”

Marie Françoise is now fully immersed in the project and already sees herself in a leadership position. She has gained in confidence and has great faith in her abilities. “With the various educational expeditions I’ve carried out in the field, I’ve discovered the realities of the professional world. I was able to see how a team was managed, and I received advice on respecting customers, quality and hygiene standards. This gave me new ideas for packaging my products.” She adds, “Right now, I’m working on my logo, and I’ve even gone to the IPC (Industrie du Produit de Construction) to choose the type of packaging that meets my needs.”

Marie Françoise is now moving from theory to practice, and is beginning to finance herself after gathering all the information she needs to implement her project.

Despite the challenges associated with her project, such as transport and the lack of materials for conservation, Marie is not discouraged. She intends to follow through on her ideas and turn her project into a major business that will recruit a skilled workforce and supply the market with good quality fresh produce.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)