By Bakary Touray Jr.
The European Union, United Nations Capital Development Fund, (UNCDF) and the Central Bank of The Gambia (CBG) have launched the National Finscope 2019 survey.
The launching came after the completion of a joint-work between the aforementioned parties, to promote financial inclusion across The Gambia.
The data, as alluded to by stakeholders from the Finscope survey, will support evidence-based interventions while designing the country National Financial Inclusion Strategy.
The Program Manager of UNCDF, Madam Rebecca Simms, said that the survey has been supported by UNCDF as part of the EU funded Jobs, Skills and Finance Program for women and youth in The Gambia–JSF.
UNCDF is the United Nations Investment Agency and part of their mandate is to provide capital and investment instruments, we offer “last mile” funding models to unlock public and private resources and with the support of the EU, UNCDF has recently established an office in The Gambia.
Program Manager Simms stressed that the objectives of the UNCDF are to increase the employability of youth and women and local communities with an emphasis on green and climate resilient communities, and to improve equal access to inclusive finance.
She told the ceremony that, the Job Programme of UNCDF focuses on local economic development and they work hand-in-hand with the Ministry of Lands and Regional Government to support local governments in rural Gambia, to gain access to funds and invest in their communities in order to create jobs with a specific focus on building up the climate resilient of these communities.
As she explained, the skills component of UNCDF guarantees that the ITC team works with technical and vocational skills providers to improve what they offer and ensure it better matches the demands of the market and ensure training opportunities are accessible in rural areas.
She added: “JSF is also working with MoHERST{Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology} to develop a national TVET roadmap that all partners can use to support the implementation of the governments TVET {Technical and Vocational Education Training} priorities”.
The UNCDF official further informed that their financing models for financial inclusion supports the “expansion of opportunities for individuals, households, and small businesses to participate in the local economy, providing them with the tools they need to climb out of poverty and manage their financial lives”.
Simms noted that the launch of The Finscope Gambia 2019 survey came after the completion of a research diagnostic that has been completed in 35 countries, including The Gambia. She held that data is only useful if it is used, and it could only make positive change if it is used appropriately. As such, she urged all the participants to make good use of this data in order to improve the work that they do.
The UN Capital Development Fund makes public and private finance work for the poor in the world’s 47 least developed countries (LDCs).
With its capital mandate and instruments, UNCDF offers “last mile” finance models that unlock public and private resources, especially at the domestic level, to reduce poverty and support local economic development.
UNCDF’s financing models work through two channels: financial inclusion that expands the opportunities for individuals, households, and small businesses to participate in the local economy, providing them with the tools they need to climb out of poverty and manage their financial lives; and localized investments that show how fiscal decentralization, innovative municipal finance, and structured project finance can drive public and private funding that underpins local economic expansion and sustainable development.
