The African Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of The Gambia have provided UA 8,973,401 million (About US$12M) to contribute to poverty reduction, support diversification of rural income generation sources, provide increased access to financial services for SMEs and individuals, and build the capacity of Non-Bank Financial Institutions in the country.

Eighty-nine per cent of the funds would be provided by the ADB, 10 per cent by the Gambia government and the rest derived from other sources.

The funds will be ploughed into a scheme called the Entrepreneurship Promotion and Microfinance Development Project, which will be executed by the Social Development Fund (SDF), an agency established in 1998 with preparatory funding from the UNDP and seed money from the ADB to facilitate poverty reduction in the country.

On Tuesday the SDF launched the project at the Kairaba Beach Hotel, where members of the donors, the implementing agency and the beneficiaries dilated on the significance and methodology for seeing the project through.

The project concept is based on the strategies outlined in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper II (2007 – 2011) and falls within Pillar two: “Enhance the capacity and output of productive sectors” and Pillar three: “Improve coverage of basic social services and the social protection needs of the poor and vulnerable”.
According to a Lead Expert from the ADB, Ms Sunita Pitamber, who gave a background of the project, the project would train 24,000 individuals on entrepreneurship management, skills and business development of which 70% will be women.

She also said 14,345 new loans would be provided to MSMEs, 28 Microfinance Institutions strengthened and staff’s skills enhanced and 35 Innovations Grants disbursed among other targets.
Ms Pitamber added that the project was designed through extensive consultation and review both at the Country level and within the Bank.

“The design is based on the explicit need to increase rural and urban employment, to empower emerging and existing entrepreneurs to benefit from improving market and regional trade conditions, and to provide a conducive environment for economic growth,” she said.

In delivering the launching address on behalf of the Secretary of State for Finance and Economic Affairs, the Permanent Secretary of the Department, Babucarr Jallow, said the SDF had been largely successful in achieving the objectives of the Poverty Reduction Project as verified by the Project Completion, and evidenced by the general awareness of its operations countrywide, the Beneficiary Assessment Study, and the Impact Assessment Cum baseline study carried out by Government and the SDF.

He said the project was designed to build upon the successes of the ADB supported Poverty 1 project and strengthen the SDF by supporting its transformation and refocused strategic programmes.
He added that to capitalize on the achievements, experiences, and lessons learned from the Poverty One project, government has decided to shift emphasis from the provision of social services as an end, to considering it as a means of enhancing the reproductive capabilities of communities in the fight against poverty.

“This is to say that Social services delivery will now be considered as one of the means through which poverty can be reduced,” he said, adding: “It is recognized that the key element of poverty in all its forms is lack of income.”

Other speakers on the occasion included Mr. Allasana Jitteh, Fund Manager of SDF; Helene Sow Dahou, Senior Microfinance Expert of ADB; and Madina Assouman, Technical Portfolio Manager, Microfinance Unit of UNCDF. Mr. George Thomas, Chairman of SDF, moderated the workshop.