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Ministry of Tourism Launches First Cohort of MSMEs Accelerator Program

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Group pictures of the program launch

By Fatou Sillah 

The Ministry of Tourism, in collaboration with the Tourism Diversification and Resilience in The Gambia Project, launched the first cohort of the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Accelerator Program on Tuesday at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Center in Bijilo. 

This initiative is supported by a $68 million grant from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) to the Gambian government, aimed at fostering the diversification and climate resilience of the country’s tourism sector.

Spanning three and a half years, the project seeks to enhance the capacity of over 200 tourism-related MSMEs by facilitating technology transfer, knowledge sharing, skill development, and strengthening business management practices. Additionally, it aims to bolster MSMEs’ contractual relationships with leading firms in the tourism industry while improving market access.

During the launch, Cordu L. Jabang-Senghore, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, highlighted the significant role tourism plays in The Gambia’s economy.

“The Government of The Gambia has recognized the growth of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) as one of the development priorities for job creation and economic development, as indicated in the Recovery-Focused National Development Plan (2023–2027). There have been limited spillovers for tourist-focused MSMEs, which face several constraints that prevent their growth. Moreover, 

“There are other structural or binding constraints that hinder MSMEs productivity, such as weak downstream and upstream links, a poor network of support services, limited contacts between traditional industries in tourism and technology – enabled businesses, limited access to financial products and services, as well as an existing regulatory framework that could benefit from enhanced promotion of competitiveness,” she explained. 

The World Bank Group Country Representative for The Gambia highlighted the Accelerator Program’s importance in advancing MSMEs and strengthening their role in the tourism sector.

“The Accelerator Program is the lubricant to support the development of MSMEs and enable them to play a key role in the Tourism Sector in the Gambia.  The World Bank group has been working closely with the Ministry of Tourism and Culture in the context of the Tourism Diversification and Resilience project, which aims to move Gambia in the direction of private sector-led sustainable development and growth by strengthening the institution of frameworks, improve leakages between local MSMEs, suppliers, and large tourism businesses like hotels and building the resilience through infrastructure support,” he said.

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