The Secretary, Taskforce of the Association of Business Coaches (ABC), Mr. Mamadou Fatty, has explained the rationale behind the establishment of their association.
In an exclusive interview with Mansa Banko Online Newspaper, Secretary Fatty dilated on the activities and objectives of the association, among which are to ensure the standardization of business coaching practices; and strengthening knowledge, skills and abilities of all the business coaches in the Gambia.
The trained business coach for the Global Youth Innovation Network (GYIN-Gambia) further outlined the objectives of the association, viz., to give voice to the business coaching profession; empower and boost credibility of the field; represent the interest of the Association’s members; define a Code of Conduct for the members; establish certification process for business coaches; promote standards and governance; and “to also see that coaches are able to enhance clients businesses, while ethics and integrity are promoted.
According to the Taskforce official, no much challenge had been experienced as GIZ–(a German development agency) –is fully behind the initiative, offering the association all the technical support to see it “up and running”. Fatty said they are optimistic that the Implementing Partners (IPs) are also very well interested in the creation of the Association of Business Coaches.
The association, as this medium was informed, had been able to engage business coaches in most of the regions, namely Upper River Region (URR), Central River Region (CRR) and Lower River Region (LRR). It’s currently criss-crossing the North Bank Region, with the intention of also covering business coaches in the Kombos, in the coming days.
“Their {business coaches} inputs and opinions are relevant to the course and have set a sense of direction for us; and also energized us as a taskforce to the work,” Fatty stated. He echoed the need for Gambians to come together and work (for the betterment of the country), arguing when “we come together, we have a stronger force. We can go far and achieve a lot”.
Association Secretary Fatty opined that individualistic adventures aren’t helping the country, and he recommended that Gambians need to form professional bodies with mutual interest to set milestones.
The database of the association currently has one hundred and eighty-five (185) Business Coaches in the Gambia, but its Taskforce Secretary believes some coaches are still not captured in their database, albeit plans are already in place to get them onboard.
Fatty, who holds HND in Banking and Finance and is a student of Economics at the University of The Gambia (UTG), made it clear that the Association of Business Coaches is here for everyone; that if one is a business owner, manager, or a director and needs business advice to improve your business, “your destination” is their association, which comprises professional and ethical business coaches that would help one to enhance his or her business nationwide, as deduced from his explanation.
