The exclusive event held at the Sir Dawda Jawara International Conference Centre on the theme: Trade Africa, Trade Global: A discourse on the trade and trade-enabling infrastructure, brought together business professionals, policymakers and institutions to discuss vital trade issues.
Speaking at the conference, Dr Rasheed Olaoluwa, Board Chairman of Bloom Bank Africa Gambia Limited, said: “As Africa faces unprecedented opportunities and challenges, the Gambia is making concerted efforts to solidify its position as a key player in regional and global trade.”
The country’s economic outlook, he said, is increasingly positive, driven by reforms and initiatives that aim to enhance trade facilitation, strengthen infrastructure and improve the business environment.
“By embracing diverse missions, we can unlock immense economic potentials, foster prosperity and uplift millions of lives not just in The Gambia, but across the continent,” he said, adding: “The theme of the event resonates deeply with our mission at Bloom Bank Africa. Facilitating seamless trade enabling infrastructure is a critical instrument for enhancing competitiveness, reducing the cost of transactions and ensuring that businesses operate more efficiently.”
Dr Lamin Manneh, Senior Adviser to the Governor of the Central Bank of The Gambia (CBG), stated that the future of African trade depends on fostering innovation that would strengthen rapid economic growth.
He added: “Our country being a small open economy with a very narrow productive and export base, we are more than committed to engaging in trade initiatives and partnerships to ensure that our trade and economy grow.
“The theme speaks directly to the aspirations of our nations and our continent as it highlights the pivotal role of trade in fostering economic growth, structural and inclusive development, not just locally.”
The Central Bank of The Gambia, he further said, “has been at the forefront of efforts to create a resilient financial ecosystem that supports trade at all levels whether through cross-border payment, providing liquidity to our businesses or developing a secure stable environment for investment with the ultimate objective of reinforcing the government’s efforts of higher levels sustainable growth on inclusive development.”
Afreximbank’s Chief Operating Officer for Anglophone West Africa, Alain Thiery Mbongue, stated: “At Afreximbank, we believe that sharing trade information and matching supply and demand could boost inter-African trade by 30%.”
Afreximbank contributes to the trade world, he explains: “Our African Trade Gateway is a digital ecosystem where we allow businesses to showcase their products and services online and there they will be able to have access to what’s happening in other countries as regards trade information and regulations, and they can access trade financing.”
Wrapping up with his bank’s transit trade spur, he said: “We also facilitate the African Collaborative Transit Scheme. This addresses the cost and delays in moving goods across borders. We facilitate these to enhance smooth movement of goods within the continent.”
