You can still donate online for other projects through the OVO Acceleration Fund (with tax certificate as from € 40). Would you like to invest directly? Please follow this link: https://donate.kbs-frb.be/actions/FFO-OVOAcceleration?lang=en_EN
You can still donate online for other projects through the OVO Acceleration Fund (with tax certificate as from € 40). Would you like to invest directly? Please follow this link: https://donate.kbs-frb.be/actions/FFO-OVOAcceleration?lang=en_EN
Cheikh also shares strong humanistic values and wants to serve as an example to encourage the young members of his group to get trained and then work for the development of their country.
The entrepreneur:
In 2013, Mr. Cheikh Sarr created the Maqammat project, a farm where he develops various horticultural activities and raises small livestock and cattle. The 4 ha site is located in the village of Ndiompy (Tivouan department) in Senegal. It has now taken the form of a GIE (Economic Interest Grouping), thus involving the whole community.
"Cheikh also shares strong humanistic values and wants to serve as an example to encourage the young members of his group to get trained and then work for the development of their country", according to Christophe Degauquier, OVO coach.
The business :
In 2013: creation of the agro-pastoral farm contributing to the development of an environment-friendly agriculture in the region
In 2014: construction with own funds of 10 ponds and planting of 100 lemon trees of different varieties
In 2017: purchase with own funds of a drip system covering half a hectare
Activities developped :
o Market gardening (growing fresh vegetables)
o cattle fattening
o Poultry farming
o processing of local products into juice, syrup and jam
o production and sale of biogas and cooking gas for domestic use, thanks to composting
o In parallel, the project has set up an incubation centre for young people and women to train them in sewing, vegetable and fruit processing. The centre has a training centre, four sewing machines, a freezer and a mill.
To strengthen the promoter's investments and develop the economic activity, OVO proposes to focus on investing in a new borehole and a solar pump. Indeed, today, without a borehole, the GIE has to get water from outside and this involves a huge cost (19% of operating costs) and complicated logistics.
Thanks to the new borehole supplied by a solar pump, Maqammat will be able to increase its production by 21% while reducing its costs by almost 3,000 € per year.
The profitability of the agro-pastoral farm - thanks to the increase in production capacity and the diversification of activities simply by having direct access to water - allows the repayment of the loan, as well as an increase in socio-economic life and an attraction around the farm that will be beneficial for the development of the region.
The final objective of the grouping is to create an incubation center for the breeding and farming professions. Cheikh's ambition is to become one of the most successful integrated organic farming structures in Senegal and he believes in the potential of the region in which he wants to establish an exchange of experiences.
Testimony of the Belgian OVO volunteer coach: "I am personally ready to finance the project up to € 1,800 (i.e. 10%) because after 1 year of coaching and several years of experience in development cooperation, I am convinced that a Senegalese entrepreneur who has lived in Europe for 10 years and who returns to his country to develop a project in a rural and underdeveloped area in the form of a GIE (Economic Interest Grouping) will go all the way! He is ready to do anything to prove that he deserves the support of institutions and donors.
With his own funds, he has already succeeded in creating a nice agricultural activity that is profitable so far, but he needs more funds to make investments that will allow him to meet his sustainable development objectives and to perpetuate his activities in a region that badly needs support to get out of poverty. Cheikh also shares strong humanistic values and wants to serve as an example to encourage the young members of his group to train and then work for the development of their country and co-create growth with their relatives rather than believing in the sacred El Dorado and risking their lives by leaving."
For the costs of a borehole, a solar pump, a connection and a fence, OVO will facilitate a loan of € 17,500 (interest rate of 7% per year, repayable in 3 years by half-yearly instalments).
Agriculture, market gardening, animal husbandry, processing of products.
"I left Senegal in 1997 to improve my life.
I decided to come back in 2013 to become an entrepreneur and create jobs.
My business benefits the whole village: we now produce what we were looking for elsewhere.
I did not come back with money but with experience.
I believed in myself. When you see what we have done in this small village with few resources, it gives you hope.
It was in this spirit that I created an incubation centre to encourage young people to develop their entrepreneurial spirit.
What I went looking for elsewhere, I found here.", Cheikh Sarr.