Gambian youth are actively involved in importing and exporting.
The initiative such as the Empowerment Project promotes agribusiness, creative industries and tourism to reduce dependency on imports.
Young entrepreneurs are increasingly focusing on value addition for export, such as processing cashew and groundnuts, while accessing training in standards, quality, and business development.
Young entrepreneurs are being encouraged to shift from subsistence farming to high-value agro-processing and exporting products such as groundnuts and cashew.
There is a significant drive for youth-led businesses to replace imported goods like rice and onions with locally produced and processed alternatives.
The Gambia Youth Chamber of Commerce (GYCC), GIEPA and YEP provide trade facilitation and training on international standards, and access to finance.
Despite potential, the sector faces challenges regarding technical skills, access to finance, and reliance on imported consumer goods.
The focus is to transform the youth from consumers of imports to creators and exporters of "Made in The Gambia" products.
In The Gambia, where youth under 35 make up over 60% of the population, young entrepreneurs are increasingly focused on shifting the country from an import-dependent economy to a self-reliant, export-oriented one.
Currently, the country relies heavily on imports for basic goods like rice, onions, and even toothpicks, while the export sector is dominated by re-exports (over 80%) and primary goods like peanuts, fish, and cotton.
The government and development partners encourage young investors to focus on these high-value sectors, converting raw peanuts and cashews into butter, roasted snacks, or oils to capture a larger share of income.
The venture also involves exporting Gambian talent and products in fashion, textiles, filmmaking, and digital services.
ICT services and tech-driven innovations are also identified as "new" promising sectors for economic diversification.
The Gambia's ratification of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and its membership in ECOWAS offer youth the opportunity to trade across African borders with reduced tariffs.
Serving as a regional "entrepôt”, the port allows goods to be imported and re-exported to neighboring countries such as Senegal and Guinea without standard import duties, though this remains a business model often dominated by larger importers.
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