By Marima Williams
The Gambia Youth Empowerment Project (YEP) in partnership with Innovate Gambia, on Monday, 5 October 2020 launched the ‘Andandoor‘ Creative Industries (CI) programme at a ceremony held at the Innovate Gambia office in Faraja.
The programme is jointly implemented by key ecosystem stakeholders with Innovate Gambia as the lead for the CI sector.
Speaking, Mr. Serign Omar Lowe, Director the Disruptive Lab, said Innovate Gambia was created to foster and elevate economic development in the Gambia.
It started with the notion of rebuilding and revitalizing the country by increasing innovation, technology, entrepreneurship, and workforce development to help with the redevelopment and innovating of the Gambia.
Director Lowe informed his audience that the launching of Andandoor, which is supported by the EU and Innovate Gambia, is basically registered for non-profit, and it was designed to support and revitalize the country, and help its economy.
He added that it has four initiatives, namely Digital Gambia; the Women-base; Community Innovation Funds, and the destructive lap.
As parts of the training, he said the training would last for six months, and the training will help to develop their business scale. He also spoke about the coaching which is also six months.
The Director pointed out that they would be concentrating on business development, comparative business, branding, sales and customer care, financial management, modeling and building partnerships.
Ms. Fatim Badji, Consultant for International Tade Center (ITC) said the Andandoor program is a pilot entrepreneurship and is to help business men build their businesses; and its divided into three sectors. The first one is to support businesses that are trying to expand; Second is for those that are trying to grow; and thirdly, those who are having new ideas and trying to setup.
Madam Badjie said that the Andandoor program targeted 110 young Gambian people including women at the age of 35, and will be supported with business plans.
There are different areas in Andandoor which are ITC, creative industries, agriculture and fashion, said Badji.
“The main ambition of this Andandoor is to ignite and support creative industries to drive the economy into a interesting way,” she said.
