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Money is a mean, not an end

Money is a mean, not an end"The first thing I think about is NOT Money." Pape Samb

Pape knows what he talks about; he played a key role in the receiving of IFAD grant of US$1.95million to create opportunities for rural youth in West and Central Africa. Pape Samb is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GYIN, the Global Youth Innovation Network, a platform of young entrepreneurs with focus on agriculture and rural areas. From Senegalese origins, he was notably the youngest and first non-American President and CEO of Phelps Stokes, America’s oldest (101 years) foundation.

If not about money, what should we think about?

"Do you ever dream?", he asked. Have a vision; have clear in mind what you are trying to achieve. What do you Dream of?

Then, you can start imagine how best you could take action towards your purpose. That's how you draw the first lines of a project. "Dream big" – your mind is free of imagining any possible scenario.

That's only afterward that you need to think in a realistic manner and assess if and how your project is feasible.

That's only at this stage that you need to think of the mechanisms towards getting the financial assets that will make it all possible.

According to Pape, it's clear that there is no sustainable action without revenue. Making a profit which will be re-injected into the projects implemented, is the only way of ensuring the existence of a programme or an organisation on a long term.

And, indeed, as funding is becoming more and more a bottleneck for many non-profit organisations, should we think of mechanisms to generate revenue? We have been assessing the pros and cons regularly these last years: what about a registration fee? What about paid services? Etc

As a YPARD member, what do you think about it? Could a membership fee work? Could we consider YPARD offering paid services, or potentially generating products for sale? Of course, these would be in line with YPARD's vision of sustainably improved livelihoods worldwide where young professionals are proactively contributing to innovative agricultural development. Which services and products would you have in mind?

Another key lesson learned is that Money won't ensure the success of your project! If you are not responding to the context's needs and if you don't have the skills to implement the project all through, it will just not work! Money will just burn in the air! Perhaps in some cases, our projects should hold a research and capacity building component, meant to benefit the project itself.

What are your thoughts?

Please log-in and drop a comment below. YPARD is your community and we want to hear from you.

Picture credit: Levy Choi

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Thursday, 28 March 2024

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