Souadou Niang went from working as a cleaner in a hotel in the United States to being the owner of a 5-star luxury boutique hotel in Senegal. Let’s take a look at her inspiring journey from ordinary housekeeper to extraordinary entrepreneur.
The young business woman was born and raised in Senegal, and she immigrated to the United States when she was 18 yrs old which she had revealed in an interview with BBC Africa. After graduating high school, she worked as a cleaner at the prestigious Ritz-Carlton Hotel. As one of the top hotels in the city, it was an incredible opportunity for her. But it wasn’t easy—she had to be committed and determined to succeed.
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Her dedication paid off, and she eventually rose through the ranks until she became one of the top managers at Ritz-Carlton. It was an incredible accomplishment, but she said to herself “One day I will go back to my country and show that luxury and quality of service can be achieved there,” and after many years living away from home, Souadou decided to return back to Senegal to achieve her dreams.
Although trying to secure a bank loan does not come easy, she eventually overcame that challenge and found one that was willing to take the risk with her “The banks’ director said ‘I see your determination, I see your eyes sparkle when you talk about your project, I believe in you, I’ll take the risk of lending you’”.
Despite having no prior experience in running a hotel business, she started her own project – Palms Luxury Boutique Hotel – then applied her managerial skills gained from Ritz-Carlton, and quickly rose to become one of Dakar’s most popular tourist destinations. And now the former housekeeper is responsible for providing jobs for many young people!
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