03/07/2014
Following the signing of the EMPRETEC GAMBIA project on the 12th of June 2014, we have yet again witnessed another milestone achieved, that is the inauguration of the steering and technical committee whose role is to provide an oversight and technical support to ensure a successful implementation of the project.
In her remarks at the inaugural ceremony the Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment (MOTIE) declared that “the overall objective is to bring about transformational change in Agriculture and Industry to be achieved through unleashing the potential of small scale farmers and MEME’s in the Gambia by 2017 through entrepreneurial skills training and a comprehensive range of business advisory services”.
The EMPRETEC model will introduce and propagate the use of entrepreneurial insight and skills that will transform economic activities to stimulate economic growth, create employment opportunities, reduce poverty and lay a foundation for industrial development as stated by the Permanent Secretary (PS).
The highly notable Permanent Secretary Mrs. Barry further stated that the EMPRETEC-GAMBIA came to being in the Gambia through the guidance of the office of vice president and in partnership with UNDP and EMPRETEC Ghana. She continued that the project will be implemented with the application of a model already tested and proven in Latin America , the middle East and Africa under the guidance of UNCTAD.
The initiative has yielded a project called EMPRETEC-GAMBIA which is a three (3) years project jointly funded by UNDP and the Gambia government. The project will train Gambian entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs (youth, women and retired but active civil servants) in a unique and systematic way that will help established and improve essential entrepreneurial skills and knowledge to carryout successful and sustainable business ventures. The project will institutionalize the EMPRETEC model in the Gambia so that at the end of the project, GIEPA can undertake the services rendered by the model for business development in the Gambia.
The PS further disclosed that a program of activities for six months has already been developed and the project is expected to create 1070 MSME’S which in turn is expected to generate an additional 3210 jobs through a systematic approach of continued and comprehensive range of business advisory and mentor ship support service. Forty percent of the total number of the initial target of 1070 MSME’S is slated for female entrepreneurs, farmers and unemployed youth.
Among other speakers at the launching is the CEO of the GIEPA. In her speech highlighted that the EMPRETEC model is in line with the mandates of the Enterprise Support Department of the Agency as they are involve in the training of entrepreneurs, business development services, access to finance, networking etc but due to material and financial resource constraints some of the services under the Enterprise Development Service (EDS) couldn't be undertaken. She further call upon the relevant sectors especially the private sector to cooperate with the project team to ensure the right people are involve in the whole training program in order to achieve successful stories, continuity and sustainability of the model in the Gambia.
On her part the UNDP Resident Representative stressed that the UNDP is fully prepared to work with Gambia government in its developments program to drastically reduce poverty in the Gambia and it is to these backdrop her institution in collaboration with Office of the Vice President MOTIE and EMPRETEC-Ghana brought the EMPRETEC model to Gambia to reap its benefits. She further stated that the model has been successfully implemented in Chile, Asia, Ghana, Ethiopia etc and she is sure with the level of enthusiasm of GIEPA in enhancing business development and sustainability in the Gambia EMPRETEC- THE GAMBIA will also be a success story.
Mr. Abdoulie Touray a Retired Civil Servant and veteran entrepreneurship advocator was nominated as the chairman of the Steering Committee. In his acceptance speech, he elaborated on the importance of entrepreneurship in any given country be it developed or developing especially among women which he coined a definition for women which is "We Organize Men and Empowers A Nation" and further reiterated that the committee has to work together to make sure the targets and goals of the project can be achieve.
The steering committee comprises of Permanent Secretaries, Office of the Vice President, Ministry Trade, Industry and Employment, Finance and Economic Affairs, Youth and Sports, Higher Education, Basic and Secondary Education, Agriculture, Communication, UNDP Resident Representative, CEO GIEPA, CEO GCCI, Director Enterprise Support Department GIEPA, Chairman GIEPA Board, Member GIEPA Board, President Gambia Women Federation, MD Eco Bank and Reliance Financial Services. The launching was well attended by members of the steering committee and other senior staff of MOTIE and GIEPA and all pledge to put all hands on deck to ensure successful implementation of the project and its sustainability.
F
ollowing the signing of the EMPRETEC GAMBIA project on the 12th of June 2014, we have yet again witnessed another milestone achieved, that is the inauguration of the steering and technical committee whose role is to provide an oversight and technical support to ensure a successful implementation of the project.
In her remarks at the inaugural ceremony the Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment (MOTIE) declared that “the overall objective is to bring about transformational change in Agriculture and Industry to be achieved through unleashing the potential of small scale farmers and MEME’s in the Gambia by 2017 through entrepreneurial skills training and a comprehensive range of business advisory services”.
The EMPRETEC model will introduce and propagate the use of entrepreneurial insight and skills that will transform economic activities to stimulate economic growth, create employment opportunities, reduce poverty and lay a foundation for industrial development as stated by the Permanent Secretary (PS).
The highly notable Permanent Secretary Mrs. Barry further stated that the EMPRETEC-GAMBIA came to being in the Gambia through the guidance of the office of vice president and in partnership with UNDP and EMPRETEC Ghana. She continued that the project will be implemented with the application of a model already tested and proven in Latin America , the middle East and Africa under the guidance of UNCTAD.
The initiative has yielded a project called EMPRETEC-GAMBIA which is a three (3) years project jointly funded by UNDP and the Gambia government. The project will train Gambian entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs (youth, women and retired but active civil servants) in a unique and systematic way that will help established and improve essential entrepreneurial skills and knowledge to carryout successful and sustainable business ventures. The project will institutionalize the EMPRETEC model in the Gambia so that at the end of the project, GIEPA can undertake the services rendered by the model for business development in the Gambia.
The PS further disclosed that a program of activities for six months has already been developed and the project is expected to create 1070 MSME’S which in turn is expected to generate an additional 3210 jobs through a systematic approach of continued and comprehensive range of business advisory and mentor ship support service. Forty percent of the total number of the initial target of 1070 MSME’S is slated for female entrepreneurs, farmers and unemployed youth.
Among other speakers at the launching is the CEO of the GIEPA. In her speech highlighted that the EMPRETEC model is in line with the mandates of the Enterprise Support Department of the Agency as they are involve in the training of entrepreneurs, business development services, access to finance, networking etc but due to material and financial resource constraints some of the services under the Enterprise Development Service (EDS) couldn't be undertaken. She further call upon the relevant sectors especially the private sector to cooperate with the project team to ensure the right people are involve in the whole training program in order to achieve successful stories, continuity and sustainability of the model in the Gambia.
On her part the UNDP Resident Representative stressed that the UNDP is fully prepared to work with Gambia government in its developments program to drastically reduce poverty in the Gambia and it is to these backdrop her institution in collaboration with Office of the Vice President MOTIE and EMPRETEC-Ghana brought the EMPRETEC model to Gambia to reap its benefits. She further stated that the model has been successfully implemented in Chile, Asia, Ghana, Ethiopia etc and she is sure with the level of enthusiasm of GIEPA in enhancing business development and sustainability in the Gambia EMPRETEC- THE GAMBIA will also be a success story.
Mr. Abdoulie Touray a Retired Civil Servant and veteran entrepreneurship advocator was nominated as the chairman of the Steering Committee. In his acceptance speech, he elaborated on the importance of entrepreneurship in any given country be it developed or developing especially among women which he coined a definition for women which is "We Organize Men and Empowers A Nation" and further reiterated that the committee has to work together to make sure the targets and goals of the project can be achieve.
The steering committee comprises of Permanent Secretaries, Office of the Vice President, Ministry Trade, Industry and Employment, Finance and Economic Affairs, Youth and Sports, Higher Education, Basic and Secondary Education, Agriculture, Communication, UNDP Resident Representative, CEO GIEPA, CEO GCCI, Director Enterprise Support Department GIEPA, Chairman GIEPA Board, Member GIEPA Board, President Gambia Women Federation, MD Eco Bank and Reliance Financial Services. The launching was well attended by members of the steering committee and other senior staff of MOTIE and GIEPA and all pledge to put all hands on deck to ensure successful implementation of the project and its sustainability.
