By Lolly Sowe
Ms Fatou Camara is the brand ambassador of the ‘Support our own Gambia foundation’ and CEO of Broken Treasure Gambia.
In this exclusive interview Ms Camara explains what the Support Our Own Gambian Foundation is all about and what it means to be a brand ambassador.
To begin with, Fatou expressed honour to be identified and recognized for this ambassadorial task. “I am someone who finds joy in supporting and putting forward the creativeness of my own people at all levels. This is an exciting development and is highly welcomed and appreciated”, she stated.
She said with this new position she has the responsibility to help inform the public about the importance of supporting our own creative minds. “It is also to show the need for Gambians to support and uplift each other; thus help identify the creativity of Gambians at large”.
The goal of Support Our Own Gambian Foundation, she said, is to have one of the biggest made in Gambia supermarkets in The Gambia, and that her expectation is to see Gambians support Gambian made products. People complain that Gambians are not creative but they do not understand that a lot of the time the creatives do not have the space to showcase and sell their products.
“I will continue to find ways of uplifting Gambian entrepreneurs in whatever way humanly possible through the help of the foundation, and advocate for Gambians to understand the importance of supporting Gambian made”.
Highlighting challenges, Fatou said most of the entrepreneurs are startups, and so “getting themselves fixed in the market becomes tedious”, as well as lack of equipment for production.
Further on the aim of the Support Our Own Gambian Foundation, the Broken Treasure CEO said is strictly focused on nurturing Gambian creative minds. The Foundation, she says gives entrepreneurs the support they need in terms of product sales, exhibitions and finance.
Fatou’s advice to her fellow youth in entrepreneurship, is for them to be persistent and to persevere. “Do not expect a quick turn in the field and if someone is not ready to fail and stand up then this is not the field for you. Always believe in yourself, close your ears, be financially discipline and always remember to produce quality in whatever you do”.
