Speed: Ditching the glasses into the national market

As one of the latest petrol stations to enter the Gambia soil, Speed Gambia is not unmaking its way through the free-market firmament in the Gambia.
Two years after it was launched, the petrol station, owned and managed by Gambians is experience enormous challenges from the huge competitions and the rise
in fuel prices, beside the government creating a level playing field for business to thrive.

Located at Brusubi-Sukuta highway with another petrol station situated at the outskirts between Lamin village and Abuko, the fuel conglomerate is expanding so rapidly in a country of 1.7 million people where a massive percentage of the population don't have access to own private vehicles. In this day and age of fuel crisis, the challenges are enormous, admits Amin Najib, Director of Speed during an encounter with MarketPlace.

Born in Kaur, Central River Region, Mr Najib said when it comes to business, there is a level-playing field, but as the price of fuel sky-rocketed Speed being a new petrol station is committed to making its way into the national market. "It was a new venture we started about three years ago. And we have searching for a strategic location, until when we found out that there is no petrol station around this end [Bursubi ends]." He opined that at the initial, Speed was flying to the sky until recently when four new petrol stations were constructed within the ends. He admits: "this really affects our business", but was not hasty to throw hope to the discussions, saying "we hope that this [their two petrol stations] will improve."

He said that stiff competitions in the market is affecting their business, whilst also adding that power shortage constitutes another factor.
He said most often they have to put on their generator 24 hrs, adding that as 24 hour business operators this is seemingly not going down well with business, believing that fuel consumption has its side of the story.

Because we are so small, we don't get the big customers. The big customers go to the multinationals [petrol stations], which makes our marketing efforts lot harder to attract customers. This is our biggest problems," says Nadil El Masri the managing director. He notes that as the prices of fuel escalated in the international market, this reflect sternly on the prices of fuel in the Gambia.
"It is not only Gambia where fuel prices is booming, it's happening everywhere. We have no control on that," he remarks, adding that this is striking the potential of many private vehicles plying the Gambian roads. Speaking further, he notes that commercial vehicle owners - who cannot pack their vehicles because fuel prices soar - are also seriously affected, pointing that when the price kneel down, petrol stations would have more customers, in comparison with the current situation. "At a lower price, we have more sales...well at higher price our sales decrease."

They both expressed hope that many people will patronise them, saying they are poised to employ as many Gambians as they can.
Whilst the spectacular year of 2011 continues to unfold with unexpected and rapidly growing changes, Speed, in conformity with the nature of business, is also aimed at introducing unbeatable products in the market.