Bilal Fall is 43 and runs Keuru Napgui Sarl, whose name translates to “The House of Fishing.” The company touches nearly every part of the fishing trade, from selling fishing gear, to bringing fishfinders, GPS units, and chartplotters into a sector that hasn’t always kept pace with modern technology, to investing in shipyards through the construction and repair of fiberglass pirogues and other vessels. It’s that last piece, boatbuilding, that Bilal brought forward as part of the “Sama xalat, sama projet” programme. Beyond fishing, the company also operates in import export, service delivery, and general services.
The motivation behind it all traces back to Saint Louis itself. “In Saint-Louis, fishing is the engine of the economy, yet almost all the actors operate in the informal sector,” Bilal says. Already working in the industry, he saw an opening. “I told myself that I needed to create a company operating in the fishing industry to create a positive impact on the trade and inspire young people.”
Ask Bilal what he’s learned most from the sessions, and it isn’t a technical lesson, it’s a mindset. “The most valuable lesson I have learned is that you must believe in your dreams and pursue them all the way to the end.”
As you might expect if you’ve read any of our other Graduate Case Studies – that belief was tested. Every founder hits a moment that tests their resolve, and for Bilal it was resources. “The greatest challenge that almost made me give up everything was the lack of resources and funding,” he says. He got through it the way many founders do, with patience and sacrifice. “I overcame it by arming myself with patience and tightening my belt.”
The proudest moment in Bilal’s journey so far is a concrete one. “The moment I am proudest of in my entrepreneurial journey is the day I produced our first prototype of a fiberglass pirogue.”
Bilal’s next steps center on securing technical and financial support, and one project in particular has him energised, “Gallou Espoir,” the Boat of Hope. It’s a direct answer to the “pirogues of despair” used for illegal migration. Gallou Espoir would establish a transport link for Saint Louis via the river sea route, solving a real bottleneck in the city, the single bridge connecting the Sor district to the island.
Bilal’s guidance to the thousands of young entrepreneurs coming up behind him is short and direct: Invest in knowledge and believe in your ideas and be patient.