By: John S. Morlu II, CPA
If you ever feel your life is too ordinary, too structured, too bound by the tyranny of logic, let me introduce you to a country that consistently refuses to obey the laws of physics, economics, or common sense.
The Gambia.
The land where imagination is not just free — it’s off-leash.
This is the only country where you walk into a meeting expecting a normal consultation, but by the time you walk out, you’re questioning everything you know about science, technology, and sometimes even God.
Other countries talk about “thinking outside the box.”
Gambians, however, don’t know what a box is — and they’re not interested in finding out.
They innovate from the wilderness of the impossible, and honestly, that’s where the best comedy lives.
1. Gambian Innovation: Where Dreams Are Infinite and Budgets Are Criminal
You haven’t truly lived until a Gambian entrepreneur sits across from you, adjusts their shirt like Steve Jobs preparing to unveil the next revolution, and says:
“I want a world-changing project. Very simple. Just do your best.”
Their “very simple” might include AI, robotics, satellites, cloud computing, blockchain, drone delivery, and 24/7 customer service…
All for $50 a month.
$50.
Not $50k.
Not $5k.
Fifty.
A budget so small it should be investigated by the IMF.
Gambians don’t small-dream. They don’t mid-dream.
They live permanently on the far edges of galactic dreaming where nothing is impossible except paying real money.
2. Build Us an Online University Using the Internet
A gentleman once approached us with the supreme confidence of someone who has never opened a laptop.
He said:
“We want to build an online university… using the internet.”
My soul left my body and came back.
Sir, how else should we build it? With coconut trees? With smoke signals? With village griots reciting lectures by memory?
He then added, with Harvard-level ambition:
- “We want multiple faculties.”
- “We want online exams.”
- “We want research labs.”
- “We want degree programs.”
- “We want international accreditation.”
- “We want graduation ceremonies — maybe in 3D virtual reality.”
And the best part?
Budget:
“We can do $50 per month. But if the project succeeds, God will bless you.”
Only The Gambia can weaponize both hope and poverty so gracefully.
Fun Fact:
Harvard’s online learning platform cost over $30 million to build.
But here, Harvard-level education costs the same as a Netflix subscription.
3. Create a Technology That Brings Rain Without Asking God
A man came to us one day radiating confidence — the type of confidence only two categories of people have:
1. Billionaires
2. Gambians with no idea what they’re asking for
He said:
“We need technology that makes rain fall. But not the kind where you go and bother God. We want a neutral rain — independent rain.”
Neutral rain.
Like Switzerland, but wet.
He continued:
“Just do your best. Maybe put it in an app. Or a machine. Or a system. You know how you people do it.”
I realized immediately The Gambia had created a new branch of science:
Meteorology Without Divine Intervention.
A discipline where developers compete with ancient rainmaking rituals.
The U.S. military once attempted cloud seeding in 1952.
China invests billions in weather modification.
Meanwhile in The Gambia, someone wants one small app — for $50 — that can outrun Heaven.
4. The Greatest Request Ever: FINTECH WITHOUT INTERNET
Now, let us discuss the crown jewel of Gambian innovation.
One day a businessman walked in with suit, tie, polished shoes, and the scent of determination.
He said:
“I want a fintech.”
No problem. Fintech is broad — so I asked:
“What kind of fintech?”
His response?
“Just fintech.”
Okay. So I tried to guide him:
“Is it mobile money?”
“Maybe.”
“A digital wallet?”
“Possibly.”
“Payments? Lending? Remittance? Cards? POS? Savings?”
“Anything. It’s fintech.”
At this point, the project went from tech to prophecy.
So I asked the crucial question:
“Should it use the internet?”
He sat upright, looked me dead in the eye, and said:
“No. No internet. Fintech must not use internet.”
Sir…
How?
By spiritual Bluetooth?
By Mandinka telepathy?
By a sacred talking drum that processes transactions?
Even aliens would need a whiteboard to understand this concept.
A fintech without internet is not technology — it’s witchcraft.
In that moment, I saw the future of Gambian fintech:
- Offline payments
- Offline banking
- Offline digital identity
- Offline blockchain
- Offline everything
Basically, fintech powered by hope and stubbornness.
5. Aliens Are Not Hiding — They Are Here
People think extraterrestrials hide in deserts, forests, or remote mountains.
No.
They live in The Gambia.
How do we know?
Because Gambians regularly request:
- A time travel app
- A phone that charges with moonlight
- An AI that understands all Gambian dialects AND their moods
- A national ID card system using fingerprints collected through WhatsApp
- A “virtual supermarket” where customers can smell food through their phone
These are not human ideas.
These are cosmic experiments.
If aliens landed today and heard Gambians pitch ideas, they would say:
“Finally — our people.”
6. The $50 Economy: Where Dreams Are Billion-Dollar But Budgets Are Transport Money
Let me be clear:
Gambians have world-class dreams.
Truly.
On paper, Gambians are one consultation away from becoming the richest people in Africa.
But when it comes to budget?
Ah.
Budget is where patriotism collapses.
A Gambian will present a project that would require:
- 14 software engineers
- 3 DevOps specialists
- 2 cloud architects
- A legal team
- A data center
- A 12-month timeline
- Millions in R&D
And then gently whisper:
“We can only pay $50. But if the project becomes big, don’t worry — we will remember you.”
Remember me?
Sir, I don’t need remembrance.
I need revenue.
One man asked us to build:
- Banking system
- Mobile money
- Blockchain wallet
- ERP
- CRM
- Payroll
- Immigration system
- Web portal
- Mobile apps
- Hosting
- Customer support
All for one $50 payment.
At that point, I knew The Gambia operates on stubborn faith and unlimited audacity.
7. Fun Facts About Gambian Tech Ambition
Fun Fact #1: Gambians don’t think outside the box — they abandoned the box in 1994.
Fun Fact #2: Every idea becomes possible when they say: “You people, just do your best.”
Fun Fact #3: A Gambian will ask for cloud computing but mean literal clouds — real sky clouds.
Fun Fact #4: No Gambian project has ever been limited by lack of knowledge — only by lack of $50.
Fun Fact #5: In The Gambia, “simple project” means NASA must help.
8. Why The Gambia Is the Headquarters of Impossible Requests
If you want creative chaos, come to The Gambia.
If you want comedy mixed with innovation, come to The Gambia.
If you want ideas that bend the universe, come to The Gambia.
If you want stress that turns your hair gray but gives you funny stories for life, come to The Gambia.
In one week you will meet:
- Visionaries
- Prophets
- Dreamers
- Inventors
- Hustlers
- Negotiators
- Philosophers
- And people who don’t know anything but insist on everything
And every single one of them will promise:
“This project will change the world. But we can only pay $50.”
Honestly?
I believe them.
Not because their idea is feasible — but because Gambian ambition alone could power a small country.
9. Final Conclusion: The Gambia Is Where Logic Goes on Holiday
This country is a masterpiece of imagination.
Every meeting is a comedy show.
Every project is a Netflix documentary.
Every budget is a crime.
Every idea is a miracle waiting to fail or shock the universe.
If you want to truly expand your mind, forget Silicon Valley.
Spend one month in Gambian tech.
You will emerge wiser, funnier, more confused, and definitely with enough stories to write a book titled:
“Ideas From Another Dimension: A Gambian Tech Memoir.”
Author: John S. Morlu II, CPA is the CEO and Chief Strategist of JS Morlu, leads a globally recognized public accounting and management consultancy firm. Under his visionary leadership, JS Morlu has become a pioneer in developing cutting-edge technologies across B2B, B2C, P2P, and B2G verticals. The firm’s groundbreaking innovations include AI-powered reconciliation software (ReckSoft.com), Uber for handymen (Fixaars.com) and advanced cloud accounting solutions (FinovatePro.com), setting new industry standards for efficiency, accuracy, and technological excellence.