Over the past 50 years, the importation of essential and household food commodities has always been limited to a few distributors in the Gambian market.
The price and quality of products have remained a growing concern over this period. In addition, the prevalence of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, heart diseases, and others are linked to the substandard quality of foods and other ingredients in the food market ecosystem.
By offering essential goods and commodities under the “Njabot” brand, which defines price, value, and quality for the Gambian family, the Unique Group hopes to meet all the critical essential needs of the Gambian family.
According to Adama Touray, the COO of Projects at Unique Group, “We are what we eat, as the saying goes, and we are confident that the introduction of the njabot line of products over the coming months and years will make us a better and healthier nation in what we consume, inspired by our traditional family values, with an affordable pricing proposition and first-class quality along the way, inspiring a new generation of Gambian consumers.”
The Unique Group, through its various subsidiary companies, including Unique Global and Unique Industries, has been working over the last five years in this crucial sector of the economy, making small but positive strides along the way.
The dedication to providing quality and affordable products to the Gambian consumer and replacing substandard and unhealthy products with reliable goods that meet the highest standards is at the forefront of this new initiative.
Despite many Gambian entrepreneurs investing in this sector, they face numerous challenges leading to bankruptcy and closure. Furthermore, with more credit or financial support access, many business owners need more resources to expand their operations.
The Unique Group and its international partners in various sectors continue to work collectively on a mission for food security in The Gambia. To continue this trend, this initiative aims to develop long-term solutions that increase the accessibility of local produce and create sustainable food systems and economic growth.
According to the Unique Group Chairman, Papa Yusupha Njie, “We remain committed to providing genuine and halal products into the market that citizens can afford. We believe that wherever the Njabot brand and other products it represents and markets under its brand will signify quality, a healthy lifestyle, and affordability for all. These are products for the Gambia by Gambians, and the love of country is at the heart of all we do. Therefore, we will continue to strive to ensure that Gambian citizens have access to products that are not only of the highest-quality but also affordable.”
According to Njaga Ceesay, the Group’s head of business development, “Our long-term goal is to add local value to products that enhance people’s lives by giving them access to the global opportunity pool while providing great value and quality for the Gambian consumers. The industrialization process of the food products and to have made in the Gambia products across a line of food markets are key to our plans.”
The company aims to continue the trend it started a few years ago and contribute to agricultural inputs in the country. As a result of this intervention, The Unique Group has been able to stimulate local economies and create employment opportunities in various areas, from producing fertilizer bags to bagging fertilizer and distributing farming tools. In addition, the company’s intervention also made possible exports of bagged fertilizer and the purchase and export of groundnuts.
This has allowed The Unique Group to create a market for local producers, providing much-needed access to tools and resources previously unavailable. In addition, they intend to introduce blending in the coming year to allow for the commercial sale of fertilizers to farmers across the country.
“Our focus on renewable energy is generating cheap and reliable electricity coupled with readily available agricultural inputs, which will mean that this country shortly can transition from total imports to exporting locally finished food commodities while also stimulating agricultural output,” says Group COO Awa Loum Njie.
The establishment of a national food bank is a public-private initiative that the Unique Group hopes to launch in the coming year to make sure that at any given period, there is the storage of enough rice, sugar, cooking oil, maize, groundnuts, and other critical essential food commodities in the Gambia, giving the country a buffer against external market forces such as currency fluctuations and threats against the global world order from war, famine, and other natural disasters.
The basic needs of the Gambian people are indeed the business of the Unique Group of companies, and the Njabot Brand initiative by the Unique Group will no doubt answer this need for Gambian families led by the highest quality of products and the greatest of value chains.
