The Blog

“It was like climbing a mountain.” These were the words of Kara Jagne to describe the moment he won last year’s Kanifing Municipal Council Mayor’s Challenge. With support from the International Trade Centre (ITC) through the European Union-funded Youth Empowerment Project in partnership with the Lord Mayor of KMC and the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) the challenge allowed young entrepreneurs, like Kara to be the central drivers of innovation. It was designed to spur impact-driven entrepreneurial solutions to tackle specific socio-economic challenges affecting the Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC) due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today, about 10 years later, Buba is running one of the few shoe production companies in The Gambia. He currently works with one fixed staff and is training about five young people through his apprenticeship scheme. As a beneficiary of the European Union-funded Youth Empowerment Project Digitalization Program, Buba has registered enormous success this past year with the digital marketing skills he gained.

Speaking at the peaceful dialogue convened by women and young people of the communities, the Governor of Central River Region extended his profound gratitude to ITC for the great work done in bringing these communities together. He said “In the past decade, we have not seen these two communities come together in this magnitude and for a peaceful cause. Calls to me from or about these communities were usually always around a fight happening and rising tension. So, if we convene here today in the spirit to foster peace, we thank the UN in The Gambia for supporting Government’s efforts to restore peace in these communities”.

"I was drawn to the world of dance at an early age. My mother was a dancer with a ‘70s music band in The Gambia, she encouraged me a lot but it was a self-driven passion that spurred me to follow through her legacy and leave my mark dancing to the rhythms of the beautiful African drums."

Ndey Fatou Jabang (Elektra) is the founder and proprietress of Flex Fuzion Entertainment and Dance Academy, a Dance company and academy offering dance classes to promote a healthy lifestyle and the art of dance as a full-time career thus creating a source of livelihood for young Gambians with a passion for da...

As a beneficiary of the Youth Empowerment Project Andandorr programme, Modou has developed skills to support the management and growth of his business. When reflecting on his Andandorr journey, he said “through this programme, I have learnt better ways to manage my business and maintain a standard record of my earnings.

More than a sport, football is a way of life. A medium of connection, hope and more than all, a medium of joy. Discovering the essence of this means an evening stroll in the streets of The Gambia. From young boys playing their hearts away, experimenting with skills they have just seen on television with joy and laughter, to young people in their gatherings arguing over the different tournaments, defending the honour of their teams and favourite player on the pitch. This is equally discovered in the video clubs, where people that share similar teams unite and pick on their opponents. The laughter, joy, and losses coming in a full circle make it all worth it for millions of people worldwide.

“the YEP digitalisation has benefited my business in several ways, the greatest of which is that I now have an online store for my products. Customers can now easily see my inventory as well as the prices for each item which has greatly enhanced my customers' shopping experience. We can also see the different countries our store visitors are coming from, which has also helped in running targeted advertisements. The program has also increased public awareness of our brand”

In 2006, at 15years, Fatou Lowe had to drop out of school at just grade 9 due to her father’s sudden sickness which worsened their financial struggles. Inspired by the care and love for her family, Fatou made a decision to join a tailoring shop in her area to learn sewing to support their upkeep.

‘’ Few months ago, we did not see coming together with the women of Kubandar due to some problems between the two communities. This training has brought us together and here we are learning skills, spending almost the whole day together and eating from the same bowl of food’’. This were the exact words of Fatou Jallow, President of Maka Farafenni Women Association.

The Peacebuilding Fund Project, “Climate Conflict: Strengthening community coping mechanisms against risks of climate-induced conflicts and to minimize gender-related vulnerabilities and tensions in The Gambia,” aims to mitigate an...