PLASTICO, Winners of the KEPT’s pitching competition
By Fatou Sillah
The Kanifing Environmental Transformation Programme (KETP) held its final pitching competition on Saturday at NACCUG, showcasing groundbreaking environmental solutions. The event featured participants presenting innovative ideas aimed at transforming the local environment.
The grand prize for the competition was GMD 275,000, with additional prizes of GMD 250,000 and GMD 200,000 for the first and second runners-up, respectively. The competition attracted a diverse audience, including environmental advocates and community members.
Fourteen entrepreneurs participated in the pitch, each given three minutes to showcase their unique and practical solutions addressing various environmental challenges. The presentations reflected a strong commitment to sustainability and innovative thinking, essential for the future of environmental transformation.
Pa Sait Ceesay, CEO of the Kanifing Municipal Council, emphasized the high cost of waste management for the council and the importance of KEPT’s support.
“As we all know, the KMC spends almost 300 thousand to 500 thousand weekly on waste management. Consequently, 60 percent of KMC’s funds are allocated to waste management. A project like KEPT can complement the efforts of the council. No institution or department can handle this alone. Collaboration is essential to achieve our goals and objectives. Waste management is one of the most expensive operations the council undertakes, so having KEPT to complement our efforts is invaluable,” He said.
Lamin S Sanyang, the Project Manager of KEPT, highlighted the ongoing support for the winners to ensure their business plans are successfully implemented.
“We are conducting this exercise to identify potential winners whom the project will assist in ensuring that their business plans are implemented as expected. We are not stopping at providing you with cheques or financing; we aim to follow up until you are able to implement the business plans you have presented here today,” He said.
Enrrica Pellacan, the head of EU Cooperations, mentioned the discussions between President Adama Barrow and the EU Ambassador to The Gambia regarding the Bakoteh dump site.
“His Excellency the President and the European Union Ambassador met and discussed the challenges faced by Bakoteh. They agreed that the European Union will be investing in addressing these challenges. Participating today is very important to understand the ideas coming from these organizations, and I am looking forward to the ideas emerging from this event.” She said.
The winners of the KETP Pitch Competition for Youth Entrepreneurs are:
PLASTICO: GMD 275,000.00 (Grand Prize)
OUTBOOST: GMD 250,000.00 (First Runner-up)
QUICK COOK: GMD 200,000.00 (Second Runner-up)