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INTEGRA NEWS FLASH

Issue #15

100 young Guineans to secure internships

In collaboration with the Guinean Employment Promotion Agency, INTEGRA evaluated 100 young job seekers for internship placements. This initiative aims to reduce the country’s unemployment rate among young university graduates through a paid internship opportunity.

Selected graduates will land their first job and at the end of this assessment week. Each of the candidates will secure a place as a trainee in companies across the country.  The prospective interns will gain an enriching experience in terms of learning corporate culture and boost their professional careers through exposure as well as tangible work experience.

Several professional training institutes including the National School of Arts and Crafts (ENAM) based in Matam and the National School of Agriculture and Livestock (ENAE) located in Kankan have also been involved with this initiative. Through this additional collaboration, the project will be replicated in seven administrative regions in the country, with the aim to employ 100 more young graduates.

30 startups successfully integrate urban logistics to their business operations

30 young entrepreneurs have successfully operationalised urban logistics into their day-to-day business transactions. After the training workshops on urban logistics in the cities of Labé and Boké last year,  the INTEGRA programme set out to provide 30 isothermal bags for 30 young entrepreneurs.

Through its training/coaching approach, businesses from the two towns have received the equipment and young entrepreneurs are now banding together to form cooperatives and develop their small enterprises.

Young entrepreneur Madinatou Diallo, shared "after the training in urban logistics where we learned the basics of delivery, today I am delighted to receive this equipment which will enable us to deliver meals in complete safety."

The programme aims to promote job creation for young Guineans while enabling the connectivity of MSMEs to expand their business prospects by introducing logistics solutions.

Guinean youth sharpen their entrepreneurial skills through personal development course

The WALIYETEBE centre hosted a training course on personal development for 200 youth from the city of Boffa.  The training course set around the theme "Turn the corner of success" lasted one week and enabled the aspiring young entrepreneurs to improve their approaches in professional self-development.

By helping them identify the tools needed to succeed, the workshop challenged, motivated and inspired youth to explore their full potential.  "This training emboldened our entrepreneurial spirit to surpass ourselves in our respective projects. It should be more popularised to give other young people the opportunity to chart their own course in life," says IBRAHIM SYLLA, a member of the youth agricultural cooperative for agricultural development (CAJPD).

The personal development training for young entrepreneurs focuses on developing a leadership and winning mentality to become successful innovators and manage income-generating activities.

INTEGRA tools the cashew nut industry players in Kankan

A number of stakeholders from the cashew nut industry met in Kankan, to discuss trade measures that hinder the export supply of this product in the regional and international market. The meeting brought together producers, distributors, exporters, regulators, trade support and business promotion agencies as well as youth entrepreneurship initiatives.

The meeting took the industry representatives through a set of case studies for a closer look at existing bottlenecks in trade. One such case study provided an in depth look at the need for improved access to information on regulatory measures and how this affects the country’s export potential.

At the end of the seminar, representatives reviewed a chart outlining the major regulatory measures applied, giving a better understanding of the internal factors limiting the sustainable export opportunities of Guinea’s offering.

A look at our entrepreneurs:

Meet Safayou Diallo, a qualified computer scientist turned successful poultry farmer

When Safayou Diallo decided to leave his job as a computer specialist in a food company, it was the beginning of a new adventure. Perched on the heights of the Dianyabé district in the town of Labé, his farm is now running an impressive chicken coop of 2000 laying hens. Poultry farming, once a thing of interest has become his new source of income.

Over the years, he has managed to maintain a distribution chain by reselling his products to wholesalers in the country's major markets. Diallo shares that in life opportunities rarely arise and it is important to know when to seize them when they do.

Since early last year, the INTEGRA programme has been supporting him through a financial management advisor to help him refine his financial strategy. Diallo also participates regularly in training workshops on packaging, market profiling and personal development.

"Without training and coaching you can't develop even if you have the financial means. I started working with INTEGRA in earl 2019 and since then the added value is profound. We have better perceptibility in our financial projections and we have managed to add three new employees to our team," he says. Safayou continues to benefit from the consistent support of the entrepreneurship coach based in his region.

Meet Aminata Fofana, the trained banker who opted to be an entrepreneur

At 29, Aminata is working towards her dream of becoming a company director. Since early 2019, she has been running a car wash in which she employs four young people in the town of Boké. Working in a sector that is usually operated by men, she has no limits and decides to go off the beaten track to make her dream come true.

After experiencing all the uncertainties and small victories encountered in the entrepreneurial world, she decided to expand her business and open a restaurant next to her car wash establishment. Customer satisfaction is her foremost commitment, as she goes about her daily activities to build her small enterprise.

In October 2019 Fofana took part in a training course on urban logistics. This expanded the capabilities for her restaurant business through the new addition of deliveries as well as strengthened her hygiene approaches through a best practice training. The INTEGRA programme thereafter also provided Fofana with isothermal bags and sanitary kits to boost her catering business.

"We are now going to integrate this equipment into our restaurant to finally deliver hot meals to our customers" she said.

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