International
Trade Centre (ITC) has recently recognised Buzz Women Organisation’s
entrepreneurship training for rural women, a requirement for admission into
Youth Empowerment Project ‘Andandorr Programme’ in The Gambia.
Stating
the benchmark for the programme in the application form, ITC stated: “Proof of
previous entrepreneurship trainings (Empretec, SIYB, NEDI, BUZZ Gambia &
others etc.).
Reacting
to this development, Fatou Toray Cham, National Coordinator, Buzz Women
Organisation Gambia expressed joy and her appreciation of the development.
“We
at BUZZ WOMEN feel excited and honoured learning International Trade Centre
through the Youth Empowerment Project recognising and making our training one
of the criteria for its Andandorr Programme. It speaks volumes of the quality
of our training, and the lasting impact it has on the livelihoods of rural
women by boosting their financial, social and psychological strengths. It is a
tap for us on our backs which will serve as a motivation for us in our drive to
empower rural Gambian women through our tailored training modules on financial
literacy, business management and personal development or growth,” she remarked
Senior
trainer, Fatou Manneh, one of the staff and architects of this milestone also
weighed in her reaction.
She
said: “Basically, the fact that the training is gear towards empowering women
in the remote areas, who are left behind when it comes to education, makes it
more interesting to for Buzz Gambia to register such as success in just two
years. Because it is touching souls of a cohort of people [women] who matter in
national development; because they’re the most talked about in every development
agenda.”
The
“Andandorr” programme is a pilot entrepreneurship programme offered by the
International Trade Centre through the Youth Empowerment Project; and jointly
implemented by key entrepreneurship service providers in The Gambia.
It
follows a maturity-model designed service provision for local qualifying youth
entrepreneurs -males & females from 15 to 35 years in the country in all
regions.
The
programme is aimed at expanding the growth of post-revenue, targeting new
markets, new products among others of selected entrepreneurs; who will benefit
from the following sectors: Information Communications Technology (ICT);
Agric-business; Poultry; Creative Industries; Fashion & Textile
respectively.
From
‘Andandorr’, selected entrepreneurs in the mentioned sectors will get a
hands-on accelerator entrepreneurship support, business advisory, coaching
& mentorship, market linkages coupled with access to finance opportunities
and technical skills throughout 2020.
Buzz
Women Organization is a Non-Governmental Organization, (NGO) established in
2018. It is mandated to provide entrepreneurship education (financial literacy,
business management & personal growth) for rural women in the Gambia with
the aim of alleviating poverty among low-income earners among the rural
women. So far, it has trained more than
3, 000 women within the Greater Banjul Area.
