At 89 years old, the Togolese Gervais Koffi Gbondjidi Djondo, one of the founding fathers of the pan-African company ASKY, believes with all his strength in the realization of his dearest dream, that of conquering the African skies.
The creation of the ASKY company in 2010 came from the desire of Africans to create a new company specific to the continent, following the disappearance of the legendary Air Afrique in 2002.
More than 13 years later, this structure with a capital of 60 billion CFA francs comes out with a turnover of 200 billion CFA francs.
“This ASKY project cost us a lot of money. At first, no one believed in this vision. Those who could accept us, accepted us and those who could reject us, rejected us. But today, we are very honored,” says Mr. Djondo.
Initially serving the capitals of the countries of the West African Economic Monetary Union (UEMOA), ASKY flights gradually extended to English-speaking capitals at the same time as to the CEMAC zone (African Economic and Monetary Community). Central).
In June 2019, the company began its weekly flights to Johannesburg, taking advantage of South African Airways’ abandonment of routes between Cotonou, Douala and Libreville and the South African megalopolis.
From Lomé to Dakar, from Banjul to Johannesburg or from Douala to Dakar, ASKY currently operates a fleet of 15 aircraft including 10 Boeing 737-800s and 3 Boeing 737-700s, serving 27 cities in 25 African countries.
According to Mr. Djondo, the secret of this laudatory stage route is not far away.
“Because we still believe in this dream, we have hardly given up and we will not give up on it. Fortunately God supported us. We also had the grace to have found people who help us,” he says during the recent signing of entry into the share capital (14.39%) of the company by the Togolese State.
And to conclude: “With all this conviction, I can reassure you that we will go even further. With all the problems currently going on in the world today, we think and believe that ASKY is on the right track.”
Note that after the recent opening of the destination Luanda (Uganda), other destinations are in the company’s sights including Kenya, Mauritania and later, China and France.
The story of Gervais Djondo, his resilience, his commitment and his audacity to believe in his vision until the end, should be taught in all entrepreneurial schools and universities in the world. Inspiring!
Savoir News/Ministry of the Economy
