The US embassy in Banjul, in partnership with American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), with support from the Gambia Investment and Export promotion Agency (GIEPA), yesterday commenced a mini-business course on entrepreneurship.
The four-day course held at the UK/US Business Centre at Relax Sahel Sports Complex was aimed at improving the business and entrepreneurship skills of promising staff and individuals of organizations and enterprises who are aspiring managers or entrepreneurs.
Speaking at the opening session, Kebba S. Touray, Minister of Trade, Employment and Regional Integration, said the gesture was highly appreciated by the Gambia government.
It will feed into the continuous efforts of the government at improving the entrepreneurial skills and capacities of Gambians, especially the young and dynamic members within the group, he said, adding that such trainings should be geared towards addressing the increasingly rapid advancements in both technology and doing business.
Minister Touray spoke of the need to quickly absorb and adopt new concepts and tools to remain competitive.
“Youth constitute a high proportion of our population, which is a strong indicator for the need to train and equip them with the needed skills and confidence that will enable them excel in their future endeavours, especially as the heads of start-ups,” said Touray.
According to the minister, the focused nature of the training with clear targets, objectives and outcome, provides a high potential for success and thus recognition.
He said it will further enhance their promising innate abilities by exposing them to other alternatives in executing their respective roles in business.
He urged the participants to pay particular attention during the simulation exercise while noting that the theories to be divulged upon during the training period will be localised through the ‘business game simulations’, which will ensure the absorption of these concepts.
“The Gambia’s national development blueprint clearly identifies the private sector as engine of growth and as such training will inculcate entrepreneurial culture towards enhancing the growth of the private sector,” he said.
For his part, Abdoulie Touray, president of AmCham, hails the importance of the training, noting that it will go a long way in helping the participants to become better entrepreneurs.
John Stubbs, a representative of the US embassy, also noted the importance to the training and urged the participants to take the training seriously.
The course instructor Nii Simmonds, an American businessman, was expected to teach participants on topics such as elevator pitching, critical-thinking skills, business game simulation, business model canvas framework, business plan structure and brief on financial statements.
