Enabel project commits to boost innovation, job creation 

Enable as it is call alongside the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Regional Integration and Employment (MOTIE) last Thursday convened a day’s forum - ‘Theory of Change Workshop co-organized under the EU funded Boosting Gambian Talents Project.’

However, the interface, which is the project’s first stakeholder engagement, was held in the context of the Global Entrepreneurship Week 2025, with the theme - ‘Entrepreneurship & Mobility: shaping partnerships for greater impact and change.’

This Boosting Gambian Talents project, according to officials, is much more than a mobility programme, as it is a platform for inclusive growth, designed to strengthen the governance of mobility by linking it directly with entrepreneurship, innovation, and job creation.

At the event, Rafaella Greco Tonegutti, coordinator of the Human Mobility Team of Enabel, spoke highly of this landmark project, further thanking EU delegation for trusting them in implementing this quite innovative and challenging experience that is putting together different ecosystems.

She expressed delight that collectively they were able to organize this technical workshop that will allow participants to reflect on how to boost this connection between the two ecosystems happening in the Global Entrepreneurship Week.

"It's not by chance that we really wanted to make this connection, and we hope that this connection stays very strong and that we will keep celebrating and discussing entrepreneurship, and mobility for the coming four or five years together, that it will become recurrent and a joyful and thoughtful moment for all of us."

Fatou Kinneh Jobe, permanent secretary No. 2 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad, described the initiative as pivotal, coming at a time when The Gambia continues to deepen its development cooperation with the European Union and its Member States, while promoting innovation, skills development, and entrepreneurship as key enablers of sustainable growth.

"At the outset, allow me to express the Government of The Gambia’s sincere appreciation to the European Union for its continued partnership through the Flexible Mechanism for Migration and Forced Displacement, and to the Belgian Development Agency, for its collaboration with the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment (MOTIE) and other national partners in implementing this visionary initiative."

PS Jobe maintained that the ‘Boosting Gambian Talents project is much more than a mobility programme, rather it is a platform for inclusive growth, designed to strengthen the governance of mobility by linking it directly with entrepreneurship, innovation, and job creation.

"By connecting Gambian and Belgian entrepreneurial ecosystems, the project provides opportunities for knowledge exchange, capacity building, and partnership development that will empower our youth and businesses to thrive in both local and global markets."

Also speaking, Abdoulie Jallow, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment (MOTI), lauded the project and one that would complement the efforts of the Ministry to convert the entrepreneurial spirit of the country’s youthful population into sustainable thriving enterprises.

"It will also support the Ministry’s efforts to create an ecosystem where our private sector, particularly our Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), becomes the undisputed engine of job creation and inclusive growth."

The Project, he added, thus aligns perfectly with the Ministry’s ongoing programmes, which places the development of our MSMEs and economic empowerment of youth and women at the forefront of our agenda for a resilient and inclusive economy.

"At the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment, our efforts are channeled through several key policies and programmes, including the National Entrepreneurship Policy, the National MSME Policy and Strategy, and the National Employment Policy and Action Plan."

 PS Jallow noted that all these policies and strategies focused on achieving the objectives of the Recovery Focused National Development Plan of The Gambia, which he said, seeks to empower Gambian youth and women talents, foster private sector-led growth and development, boost trade and create pathways for economic resilience.

Held at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Center, the event attracted key stakeholders from from government ministries and agencies, members of the private sector and civil society organization.