About Amadu
Born in January 2000, Amadu was raised by a single mother alongside his siblings in Freetown. The family moved to Guinea and later returned to Sierra Leone. Amadu has long dreamt of being a businessman. He grew up helping his mother in her work as a petty trader.
Transition into Entrepreneurship
Amadu started his first business aged 13 years old, selling biscuits and bags on the roadside and in the market during the holidays. He enlisted his cousin’s help to increase sales and make profits. From then on, he pursued other entrepreneurial opportunities – in human resources; graphic design and advertising; and paper bag creation. Each of these ventures failed, but each time, he failed forward. Amadu revisited the idea of a paper bag production venture because of the overuse of plastic in his community. Following positive feedback from his first customer, a neighbor, Amadu hired two friends and expanded the operation from his bedroom to a small backyard space. With that move, his business, Caballay Investment, came into existence.
Business Profile
Amadu founded Caballay Investment in 2020 an eco-friendly paper bag manufacturing company. They produce handmade paper bags, restaurant packaging, and branded bags using local materials. Additionally, they offer wraparound services such as screen printing, graphic design, logo design, and social media advertisements. Caballay Investment provides these services to other businesses, including supermarkets, fashion stores, stationery shops, printing presses, hotels and restaurants. The paper bags are durable, reusable, and recyclable.
