Selection Senegal
Consortium Jeunesse Senegal
Gued Beach is an innovative and inclusive youth project on Guédiawaye beach.
The development of Gued’ Beach around 3 “parks”, corresponding to three sectors of activities (Green, Sports, Leisure and Restauration), operate in a principle of synergy and circular economy.
The aim of the project is threefold:
1) Create long-term jobs for young people
2) Offer thousands of young suburban Senegalese women and men affordable, safe and quality leisure areas close to their homes
3) Generate green growth and bring a positive image of an underprivileged area and its inhabitants.
The Problem
The Dakar suburban area of Guediawaye is Senegal’s most densely populated area. Yet, their inhabitants have limited economic opportunities, particularly young people with the unemployment rate being among the highest in the country.
Additionally, Guediawaye offers no quality space for sport and leisure, despite massive demand from the local population and the presence of a 10+ km sand beach on its northern border.
While there is already some traffic at Guediawaye beach, it currently does not attract a large female presence due to a lack of gender-sensitive infrastructures such as separate toilets and locker rooms.
The Solution
Over the course of our project we will deliver the following initiatives:
- invest in leisure infrastructures on the beach of Guediawaye (sports, bars and restaurants, entertainment scene)
- identify, recruit and coach young entrepreneurs to manage the facilities through the creation of small enterprises
- recruit and train young women and men to work in these small enterprises.
In total, we will be creating 480 jobs, including 51% for females. Gued Beach aims to equip the coast of Guédiawaye with a quality sports infrastructure, respectful of the environment and adapted to the practice of the inhabitants of the district. The sports park will benefit from investment (see business model) in quality infrastructures for outdoor/beach sports (soccer, basket, volley, surf, swimming, fitness). The business opportunities generated will include: managing sports infrastructure (maintenance and operations), and provide coaching services to users. Investments in safety infrastructure (bathrooms, locker rooms, lights) will make it a welcoming space for women to work and exercise.
Additionality
CFYE support has been instrumental in developing our project design. Throughout the inception phase, frequent guidance and field visits offered by CFYE team members have enabled us to better shape our project. With its support, the project will be better designed, proceed more quickly and reach more young people than it otherwise would have.