Biogas in the city of Antananarivo, that’s what GasGasy has achieved, and that’s why it was nominated for the Anzisha Prize. Andrianarisandy Maevasoafaniry Rebecca, 20, tells us about the beginnings of the company:
What is GasGasy?
Rebecca Andrianarisandy: GasGasy is a project to create businesses that produce biogas by recycling biomass and other organic materials. The concept of GasGasy is to produce biogas that does not harm the environment at an affordable price for all. Deriving from the biogas, we obtain the bio-composte which is both fertilizer and insecticide.
“Starting from scratch” would be the best description of our beginnings because we had nothing material. On the other hand, we had a lot of will and enough strength. Long story short, here’s a reporter’s take on us: “Four young women plan to revolutionize the world with what they have.”
These four young women are none other than :
- Andrianarisandy Maevasoafaniry Rebecca
- Raveloarisoa Voahary
- Randrianatoandro Mino De Diana
- Solofoniary Mitantsoa Diamondra
Where did this idea come from?
Rebecca Andrianarisandy: The idea for this project came about in June 2016 when we participated in a Leadership program organized by the NGO Youth First for young girls. We decided to create GasGasy in order to bring a practical solution to the environmental problems we are all currently facing.
First of all, in the face of the abusive exploitation of the forest for the production of charcoal, but also in the face of climate change, the consequences of which Madagascar, among many other countries, is suffering.
According to the concept previously exposed, GasGasy meets the expectations of our country and the world today by inserting the use of green energy in the daily life of the Malagasy.
This is equivalent to the implementation of sustainable development here in Madagascar. The creation of the project was done by the whole team. The implementation began with rather expensive experiments that only succeeded in the sixth attempt.
Did you encounter any difficulties? If so, what motivated you to continue?
Rebecca Andrianarisandy: When we set out, we made up our minds that there would certainly be difficulties. GasGasy has already survived about 50 problems…at least! However, we survived it because of the great team we have. We have values that we believe are unshakeable. Moreover, the four of us are very proud of this project and will do everything to develop it.
Being a young woman entrepreneur is by no means negative. We believe we can leverage what we have and we succeed because we are young women entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurship is not just about business, but also about heart. The unemployment rate in our country is incredibly high. Young people are limited to looking for work instead of creating work for themselves and others.
We wanted to be among those who create them. GasGasy will provide stable work for about 450 people in its first year.
Tell us about Anzisha Prize
Rebecca Andrianarisandy: GasGasy was selected at the end of July.
The selection was made in 4 stages:
-The first step is the selection of the applications (about 1500 applications).
-the second was between 100 candidates by telephone interview
-the third was between 30 candidates and the Anzisha Award Committee visited the respective companies
-the fourth stage will be between the 15 candidates who remain for the final in South Africa
We hope to win this final and especially to meet people ready to accompany us in our enterprise.
Our strength comes down to the fact that we had nothing at the beginning except our will, with which we got to this point.
Any advice for young Malagasy entrepreneurs?
Rebecca Andrianarisandy: If you have a dream, don’t give up, pursue it, because it’s worth making sacrifices and choices. Stay connected with others and especially surround yourself with people who believe in you.
“Just dare to inspire others
