by Mariatou Ngum
Ms. Maimuna Sanyang, the Business Development Officer of The Gambia Women Chamber of Commerce (GWCC) has explained to women entrepreneurs that under the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), they are not just competing locally but also with businesses across the continent. She therefore urged them to embrace this challenge with confidence. “I am very optimistic that you have the skills, knowledge and the vision to take your business to the next level,” she said.
Ms Sanyang made these remarks last week during a day’s workshop on AfCFTA Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade at a local hotel in Senegambia.
The workshop was organised by the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment (MoTIE) in partnership with the International Trade Centre (ITC). It was graced by Mr. Abdoulie Jammeh, the Deputy Permanent Secretary; and Musa Sawaneh, the Principal Economist of the Ministry of Trade; Mr. Yusupha Keita from ITC; as well as women entrepreneurs from SheTrades and GWCC.
The Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade aims to enhance the involvement of women and youth within the AfCFTA. This is part of the sensitisation activities that the Ministry of Trade has initiated to raise the awareness of stakeholders on the AfCFTA Protocols and the benefits and opportunities created by the AfCFTA.
The ultimate objective is to develop and strengthen the required trade capacities of The Gambia to participate and benefit from the AfCFTA.
Ms. Sanyang further told the participants that the AfCFTA has opened doors that were once unimaginable, and that those doors lead to opportunities, growth, and empowerment but that to walk through them, they must be prepared.
She emphasised that they need to focus on quality. “Your products are a reflection of your business; make them the best they can be. AFCFTA will give you access to new markets, but competition will be very intense. Always stand out by delivering excellence at anytime,” she advised.
DPS Abdoulie Jammeh stated that the empowerment of women and youth in trade is very central in The Gambia’s AfCFTA National Implementation Strategy. He asserted the Ministry’s commitment to working closely with partners and key stakeholders to build and strengthen the country’s institutional, policy, and regulatory frameworks to enhance the business environment, as well as support businesses to compete and integrate into the African market created by the AfCFTA.
Under the Strategy, he noted, the Ministry has assessed regional and continental markets and identified the priority sectors and products that The Gambia has potential to participate in the AfCFTA. This, he said, will guide government’s engagement with the private sector, particularly the MSMEs and women-led businesses, to enhance productive capacity development, value addition and trade diversification for domestic and export markets within the AfCFTA.
Mr. Yusupha Keita, Technical Adviser at ITC underscore the importance of creating awareness on the AfCFTA Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade. According to him, this is very important to their work at ITC. He highlighted their areas of intervention in trade promotion as including: capacity building, business development strategies, market linkages, access to finance, as well as regional trade.
“We are really happy that we are having this awareness creation workshop to ensure that women entrepreneurs and MSMEs are aware of these opportunities, as well as the protocols and procedures that they have to follow so that they can benefit from these opportunities,” Keita stated.
