"I want to be like Bill Gates." - Babacar Sall

I had the pleasure of meeting with Mr. Cheikh Mountaga Sall, who also goes by Babacar. He is a relatively new member here at Zidisha, only receiving his first loan in March. But he has quickly seen the benefits of Zidisha loans. He has recently joined Zidisha as Coach Bénévole and recommended Zidisha to several members in his community.

Mr. Sall has been in his current business now for over a year, commencing activities in April 2013. He imports cosmetic products directly from the United States for resale in his neighborhood. He buys products such as Dove soap, Crest and Colgate toothpastes, Listerine mouth wash, perfumes, and other American products. He orders one or two boxes of products each month, and he averages between 60,000 XOF to 75,000 XOF profit on each box. The revenue is then directed towards family expenditures or reinvested in his business.

Right now Mr. Sall sells his products from home or goes to clients' houses. Even though his activities are currently small in scale, Mr. Sall dreams to one day be able to fill a large boutique with products. He knows there is a large demand for high-quality American products, and the revenue from his boutique would allow him to invest in other revenue-generating activities as well. "I want to be like Bill Gates. I want to be the big man in the world," said Mr. Sall.

Solidarity and community are important aspects of Senegalese culture. Everything from food to drinking cups are shared among family members and strangers. It is also not uncommon to find many members  of the family living in one household. Money is also not kept for oneself but is shared among the family. For this reason, Mr. Sall stated that he often sells his products on credit, asking his customers to pay two weeks after he distributes his goods.

Mr. Sall is very passionate about his business and has great ambition. He enjoys greatly what he does because he has been able to apply his university studies in his work. It has also enabled him to remain autonomous, not having to work for someone else. I had a pleasant visit today with Mr. Sall, and I only hope I have the pleasure to return to see the progress of his activities.