WHY THE GAMBIA?
Peaceful Country – safe place to operate a business
• One of the safest countries in Africa.
• The “melting pot” of West Africa, The Gambia’s eight different ethnic groups live peacefully among one another,
where Islam sits peacefully with Christianity in mutual respect and dignity.
Competitive Labour Costs – cheap labour force, helping lower operational cost
• Abundant semi-skilled and unskilled labour force.
• Average wages at US$1.25-US$2 a day (unskilled), which is substantially lower than many West African countries.
Highly Stable Economy – investors profit from a liberal, market-based economy
• Sustained fiscal and monetary discipline.
• Flexible exchange rates.
• Reliable laws.
English Speaking Country– easy for business operations
• English is the country’s official language and most commonly spoken language in the business arena.
• Schooling all in English, providing an English-speaking labour force.
• Closest English-speaking African country to Europe.
Business Friendly Environment – easier than ever to start a business and access other West African economies
• Starting a business is significantly less complicated when compared to other Sub-Saharan African countries. Significant improvement in cross-border trading.
Market Access
The Gambia benefits from unrivalled access to a large and growing market:
West Africa - The Gambia’s membership to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) trading bloc ensures easy market access to over 300 million people.
• Well-functioning customs and port services.
• Low import duties with duty waiver incentive scheme for GIEPA SIC and EPZL holders.
• Simplified administrative and business registration and custom procedures.
Other International Markets
• European Union: Everything but Arms (EBA) grants exports from The Gambia with preferential access and both duty and quota–free access.
• United States: African Growth and Opportunity Act grants exports from The Gambia with preferential access and both duty and quota–free access.