By Akitania Nzally
A500 Fashion Boutique is owned by a Gambian youth. His name is Abdoulie Jallow. He is 23 years old.
According to him, he started his business at a lower level moving forward till he got to the present stage. “Even though I was a young man with little capital, I managed to start a good business and I thank God for it”, he said.
Abodoulie is an ambitious young man who is not waiting on anyone to earn a living. He started first by buying a pair of shoes for himself which attracted the attention of his roommate who wanted the same type of shoes. So, he volunteered to get it for him. He bought a few more because it was cheaper, and he uploaded pictures of the shoes online which attracted more people than he expected. From that point, he started buying more shoes and posting them online while more demands were coming in and that’s how his business started.
He disclosed that it wasn’t an easy journey at all as people will make an order but later not buy. Others will even order and not pick it up telling you different stories. When the products overstayed with him, he would decide to sell them off at cheaper prices just to get more trendy stuff.
Meanwhile, he combined business with his education at the GTTI which made it a little bit stressful for him. Though he didn’t allow it to deter him instead he was determined to do better.
He called his shop A500 (A) for his name Abdoulie and 500 because he started his business with just D500. He started the online business in May 2020 and later opened his long-anticipated shop A500 at the Serrekunda market the center for business in March 2021. He orders his products from China and Turkey. He sells both male and female clothes, shoes, jerseys, socks, and other sports materials as well. He also noted that due to the high demand for his products he had to borrow some money from his dad to buy more to supply his customers.
“My dad is my greatest inspiration; he is a businessman who has a lot of experience in the business. I would say he is my role model and I look up to him a lot” said Abdoulie.
“Set your goals and never look back, more importantly, exercise patience”, this was his advice for every youth out there who is find it difficult to make it through. Patience and consistency are key.
AbdoulieJallow is a young Gambian who believes that he can live and succeed in his country. You can support his business by visiting his shop and we are certain that you will find the clothes and shoes interesting.
A500 is located at Serrekunda Market, Brikama garage. You should visit the shop and support a brother.
