Here was a proud son of The Gambia, with nothing more than a high school certificate, delivering one of Sierra Leone’s largest private real estate projects and being embraced as a strategic national partner. This is the same visionary who pioneered private real estate in The Gambia through Yarambamba, Brufut Gardens and TAF City in Siffoe, a gated community larger than Banjul that has transformed the Siffoe/Gunjur axis and inspired other developments like Greenville.
Yet, we must confront a sobering reality: Gambian excellence is often celebrated more abroad than at home.
Before Sierra Leone, TAF built a formidable footprint in Nigeria, developing thousands of homes in one of Africa’s largest economies and earning recognition as “Affordable Housing Company of the Year” twice. That success reflects not only ambition and discipline, but also the presence of enabling environments elsewhere.
So we must ask: why do many Gambians, including our diaspora, find it easier to thrive outside their own country? Why do foreign-owned companies, in many cases, enjoy higher survival and success rates despite the presence of equally capable local entrepreneurs?
This is not about rejecting foreign investors. They are critical partners who bring capital, expertise, and networks. The concern is when they are disproportionately advantaged while local entrepreneurs face greater barriers to finance, land, regulatory approvals, and institutional support.
When merit is not consistently recognised, excellence retreats and mediocrity advances. That weakens our entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The Gambia must be intentional about empowering its own. Policy and institutions must deliberately create a fair, enabling business environment so indigenous entrepreneurs can compete, scale, and contribute meaningfully to national development.
Only then will we build an economy that is not merely open, but genuinely fair—welcoming the world while ensuring Gambians are not disadvantaged in their own country.
We have the pilots, the engines, and the fuel. The question is: when will we finally take off?
