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MSME FORUM OF STAKEHOLDERS


Despite the significant contribution of the MSME sector and its unexploited potential it continues to demonstrate, there has never been a national policy document on the development of the MSMEs.  They were merely part of a blanket policy that was to cater for all operators within the private sector. However, recently, this oversight has been acknowledged and addressed as evident by the formulation of the country’s first MSME policy in 2008, and the recent enactment of the GIEPA Act 2010. This new policy has a coherent action programme with a clear institutional mandate for its implementation. The mandate of the Gambia Investment and Export promotion Agency (GIEPA) includes enterprise support and development, and a specialized department has recently been established to execute this mandate. 



To pave the way forward for its coordinated implementation of the policy, the Agency through its Enterprise Support and Development Department (ESDD) has organized an MSME stakeholders’ forum to create better understanding of the challenges and opportunities within the environment and collectively agree on a way forward in addressing the challenges while simultaneously exploring the opportunities to enhance the contribution of the sector to national development. The forum accorded staff of the ESDD the opportunity to meet and familiarize themselves with the key stakeholders in The Gambia’s MSME sector and achieved the following objectives



1. The introduction of the new mandate to stakeholders and meaningful engagements with stakeholders to better understand the dynamics of the operating environment. The forum provided an opportunity to know the various stakeholders, what they are doing and how to better coordinate their activities to be in tune with the national development agenda.  As a complex sector, such exchanges of experiences undoubtedly continue to facilitate the development of the sector...[READ MORE]