In empowering young people to be self-employed and provide employment and employability for many others, NEDI is leading the race in The Gambia. Over the past months, NEDI has trained more than 605 young people and women on business development, financial management and coaching, food processing, perseveration and packaging, basic Horticultural, and general entrepreneurship training.
These trainings are funded by the government of The Gambia through the Ministry of Youth and Sports, GIZ, ITC, IOM, IMVF and other Partners. It exposes youth to skills that will help them in employing themselves and others. It’s also expected to enhance self-employment, contributing to the reduction of unemployment among the youth and women population in the country.
The training has armed the youth with the necessary skills in making sure that they live a meaningful and dignified life.
NEDI, as a satellite institution and the enterprise arm of the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MOYS), provides the platform for young entrepreneurs to explore opportunities and strengthen their entrepreneurial spirit or potentials. NEDI works with and through young people to enable them re-position themselves as key players in the economic system of the country.
NEDI has worked with partners to re-focus the energy of young people in the value chain sectors especially in agro-entrepreneurship and general entrepreneurship as a vehicle for sustainable growth and job creation for youth and women.
They stand to empower Gambian youth and women with the requisite skills to help them have a decent living and contribute their part to the socio-economic development of the country.
In addition, NEDI has provided Business Advisory Service to six hundred and forty (640) youths and women in the past 9 months of 2021. The advisory services offered includes: guiding interested and qualified ones to fill the YEP, TEKKI FI and SDF loan and grant forms and helping them submit to the relevant institutions for consideration.
According to the Program Manager, Abdoukabirr Daffeh, the advisory service also constitutes a hands-on skill approach on how to complete grant or loan forms and link them to other service providers as well as NEDI mentors for mentorship.
Providing financial support to these young entrepreneurs, NEDI has given loans and grants to 60 young people and women including returnees through the youth development fund supported by the Ministry of Youth and Sports. NEDI also supported three communities in the Lower River Region with agro-processing machines with support from GIZ to empower women and youth of the area to be self-employed.
NEDI has provided financial and material support to youth businesses across the country to enable them to become sustainable. The institution has supported in the construction of Bakery for youth in Kiang Nema to enable them sustainably develop their bakery business.
The institution has also supported the K&K Brothers Painting Company which was facilitated through the Ministry of Youth and Sports with cash to procure painting materials for them to enable them to expand their business and employ more young people.
On media outreach for Gambians to support their own, NEDI has funded a three-month radio talk show at Capital FM with the Balance Team. The radio talk shows, “Support your own” is aimed at supporting NEDI trained entrepreneurs with visibility as well as promote their business.
The radio show provides a platform for NEDI trained entrepreneurs to showcase their business to the public. The show airs every Thursday between the hours of 2:00-3:00 and enjoys very huge listening.
As part of its core mandate to support business and entrepreneurship development in the country, NEDI has supported five youth and women entrepreneurs to participate in a two-week trade fair organized by the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The trade fair availed the participants to network with other entrepreneurs and creates a market for their business.
NEDI have decided to work the talk as youth and women should be at the pinnacle of development and they should be allowed to drive it, not seeing them as benefactors but partners in development.
For NEDI, the hardworking youth and women of the Gambia deserve greater support that will empower them to take their rightful position in the development of the country. Youth are seen by many as the cream and backbone of any country including The Gambia and her economy.
Empowering and investing in these young people means investing in the future of our beloved country, The Gambia. This is what MOYS and its Satellite institutions (NEDI, National Youth Council, NYSS, PIA, Independent Stadium and NSC stand for.
NEDI and its hardworking staff headed by invincible General Manager, Abbas Bah are ever committed and ready to empower Gambian youth in all angles of enterprise development.
Addressing the unemployment and employability issues of our Gambian youth and women is NEDI’s priority.
Mr Bah, says, his institution will continue to develop strategies to support youth and women entrepreneurs. “This will indeed create many youth employment opportunities and will reduce irregular migrations challenges and increasing income and rising standard of living for our youth,” he added.
They do not only stop at training but also support exposing their various businesses and also link them with potential donors. NEDI support several youth and women to participate in many trade fairs in the country. Business exposure is very vital in the development of any business; this is what NEDI understands and does for youth entrepreneurs across the country.
NEDI is a public agency established by the government and given the mandate by an Act of parliament (NEDI Act 2013) to provide various services in the areas of the entrepreneurship training program and business development for youth and women especially in the informal sector of the economy.
Because of its public agency status, NEDI has structures to implement its programs of activities across the country. The institution has a board which comprised eminent personalities appointed by the President of the Republic of the Gambia through MoYS and they are tasked to play an oversight responsibility.
Its primary objective is to empower Gambian Youth and Women, through entrepreneurship and enterprise development. The activities of NEDI involve; training youth and women on basic business skills, providing loans and microfinance support to small business enterprises.
The institution also provides business advisory services, mentoring and coaching to youth and women entrepreneurs to ensure growth and sustainability in the enterprise development of The Gambia.
Written by: Sulayman Ceesay, Senior Media Assistant
Ministry of Youth and Sports
