Background
The International Trade Centre (ITC) is a joint agency of the United Nations (UN) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). It is fully dedicated to supporting the internationalization of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). It has a mission to foster inclusive and sustainable growth and development through trade and international business development. ITC Headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland.
ITC is implementing the EU Youth Empowerment Project (YEP) - Tourism and Creative Industries. The project has an overall objective of increasing the competitiveness, inclusiveness, and sustainability of the Tourism sector and Creative Industries in The Gambia. It has three main specific objectives of: a) improving business environment and institutional ecosystem; b) improving investment and market access; and c) increasing the competitiveness of MSMEs in The Gambia’s tourism and creative industries. These will be achieved by implementing a number of key actions, including: i) streamlining and supporting implementation of strategies and regulation for the creative industries; ii) strengthening the technical and operational capacities of business support institutions; iii) building the branding and marketing capacities of actors in the tourism and creative industries; iv) creating market linkages and investment opportunities; v) budling capacities of MSMEs engaged in the tourism and creative industries with a focus on sustainable and inclusive tourism; and vi) enhancing skills of target beneficiaries, mainly youth and women in areas which promote their employment in the tourism sector and creative industries.
The project addresses a variety of challenges and constraints of the sectors, which include a) weak sector coordination and regulations, b) narrow product offering and sub-standard quality, c) limited market diversification and strong seasonality, d) skill gaps, e) climate vulnerability, and f) low sector integration and limited positive spillover effects of the sectors to the wider economy and society. The implementation of the project will enable the Gambia to diversify source markets and attract more visitors year-round, including tourists with higher purchasing power, and to boost its offering of green and inclusive products and services of the tourism and creative industries.
The EU YEP Tourism and Creative Industries is financed by the European Union (EU) for implementation over a period of 56 months. The Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment (MoTIE) and the Ministry of Tourism and Culture (MoTC) are the key focal point government institutions for the project.
The project focuses on youth and women as the main target beneficiaries. It also puts a special emphasis on vulnerable groups by creating quality jobs and pathways for skills development, business growth and sustainability. Micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) and public and private sector institutions, including, sector-based cooperatives and associations will be the target beneficiary groups of the project.
Objectives of the Institutional Assessments
Institutional assessments will be carried out using ITC's Benchmarking Methodology, a tool designed to help BSOs improve their practices and performance by comparing them with international best practice.
The overall objective of these assessments is to strengthen BSOs by identifying their strengths and weaknesses, improving their efficiency and effectiveness.
Download the terms of reference in the downloadables for more information.
Submission and Deadline
To apply, please submit all quotes (technical and financial) by 1:00pm 26th February 2025 to Suwaibou Cham scham@intracen.org and copy yusupha.keita@intracen.org and fjallow@intracen.org .