“Start Hope Workshop for Tyres“

Demba started our StartHope@Home program in summer of 2019. The 25-year-old has been living and working in Germany for six years, his own education was particularly important to him. He attended several German courses and worked for five years in a tyre service garage. This activity inspired Demba's dream, the opening of a workshop, the "Start Hope Workshop for Tires" in his home country Bakau, Gambia.

He decided to return to Gambia and turned to a return counselling center in Ludwigsburg with his wish and idea. There the contact to our program StartHope@Home was established.

We started our coaching with Demba in Stuttgart and worked week after week on his business idea. Through working in the car workshop Demba already had a very clear idea of the objects and skills that are important when working in this area. His goal is to build a stable customer relationship by promising a good price-performance ratio and keeping it with best quality. Demba already has contacts in Gambia that can help him build his business, such as tyre dealers and car technicians.

Demba went through all relevant modules to build a successful business: profiling, business model canvas, financing and pitch training. Finally Demba presented his elaborated business model to our team in Stuttgart.

It was important to him to share his experiences with the program and the coaches and with others and he thanked the coaches and consultants with his certificate in front of the camera.

Our team in Stuttgart really enjoyed working with Demba on his plan for his future. With the skills he has acquired here, the jointly designed business plan and a large portion of motivation, Demba will travel back to Gambia in February.

We will stay in touch with Demba by phone, and further support with our coaches on site is planned. We are very excited and look forward to the first photos and impressions of his workshop.

Social Impact Lab Stuttgart