Dragons take their Den to Senegal

A group of UK based business people who helped found a project bringing entrepreneurial skills to hundreds of African women will be venturing out to Senegal next week in true Dragons’ Den style to asses the many projects requiring funding.

Surrey based Richard White and Marieme Jamme founded the Dakar Dragons project after being inspired by the story of Viola Vaughan and her own 10,000 Girls Project. Retired American Viola is currently living and working in Senegal with the aim of improving the lives of 10,000 African girls through giving them education and sustainable life skills. The project has equally inspired others and there is now an impressive team behind the Dakar Dragons project.

The team will venture out to Senegal on Saturday 21st November and spend two weeks meeting the 100 girls who have been through the educational part of Viola’s programme and are now on the enterprise programme. Jamme and White will be joined by serial entrepreneur Anna Lowe and Jonathan Roe who has an impressive background in Corporate finance. In addition, ex BBC film maker Anna Shelmerdine will be producing a short documentary for the project.

“The girls who are now on the enterprise programme are taking steps to create their own businesses, making things like clothes, dolls and even local juices and are learning the skills they need to create a sustainable income and future for themselves and their families. They have lots of projects that need funding and the purpose of this visit it to meet them all and assess which projects will receive seed funding. We are also there to provide mentoring to ensure they succeed,” says White.

The 10,000 Girls Project currently has 2,500 girls in various stages of the programme, with literally hundreds waiting to join.

“Ten of the girls from Senegal programme have just been accepted into the University of Suffolk and this shows just how much of difference projects like Viola’s are making to the lives of African women. For them, education is the key to independence and freedom and I am honoured to be doing my part to help give these women the opportunity to shine,” says White.

For more information visit www.dakardragons.org and www.10000girls.org