Gambia

<p>The Trans-Gambia transport corridor has seen a significant increase in trade and migration with the 2019 opening of the Senegambia Bridge, which crosses the Gambia River. The project aims to allow border communities to reap the benefits of the transport corridor without being at risk of harm by addressing the challenges along the corridor related to irregular migration, organized crime and the specific vulnerabilities faced by female migrants and traders.</p><p>The project, a pilot initiative, will target two districts (Jarra West and Upper Baddibou) and will aim to mitigate migration challenges and improve the cross-border environment for women and youth. The main components of the programme include: 1) Enhancing border posts to pre-empt situations of vulnerability; 2) Strengthening capacity of border authorities; 3) Increasing awareness among women and youth of their rights; and 4) Strengthening skills and opportunities for women and youth.</p>

<p><span lang="EN-GB">The project aims to strengthen the economic and social rights of vulnerable groups whose livelihoods have been affected by the Senegambia Bridge. The newly constructed bridge not only has the potential to transform trade in West Africa and contribute to integrating the region by connecting Mauritania with Senegal and Nigeria but has a much wider social and economic impact on the trans-Gambia road corridor. While there are clear benefits for the macro economy of reducing the transit time of overland traffic, the bridge also has an important socio-economic impact on the communities along the transport corridor. The project which is led by UNFPA and implemented in a collaboration with ITC and several national partners takes a take a human security approach. The economic activities led by ITC will help address the <em>Freedom from Want</em> by supporting income diversification and strengthen business support services in the affected communities. The initiatives will focus on women and youth in NBR and LRR and include skills training in hospitality and agro-processing, strengthening of productive capacities and access to markets.&nbsp;</span></p>

<p>AIM for Results is an intervention approach that strengthens the performance, efficiency and effectiveness of TISIs and builds their capacity to provide more effective support to the internationalisation needs of their clients, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).</p><p>AIM stands for Assess, Improve and Measure. It is a holistic and targeted integrated three-step-approach focusing on measurable results in order to improve the managerial, operational and service delivery performance of TSIs. The three pillars of AIM are offered either as a single module or as a complete performance improvement programme, depending on the needs of the beneficiary institutions.</p><p>&nbsp;In 2017, the project aims to improve the operational and managerial performance of 40 TISIs applying ITC&rsquo;s AIM For Results methodology.</p>

<p style="margin-left: 20px;">The project is part of larger UNDP led initiative that seeks to reduce economic and social vulnerability of the poor and marginalized populations affected by COVID-19 through green and eco-friendly community livelihood interventions. The project will implement a community based social protection initiatives focusing on populations living around Protected Areas in North Bank Region, Central River region and Lower River region. The support will focus in particular on generating and diversifying income opportunities related to beekeeping, poultry and crafts.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The overall objective of the proposed project is to attract investment and promote trade and sustainable industrial and business development at continental level, concretely supporting the AfCFTA Secretariat and the African Union and delivering on the Africa-EU partnership for sustainable growth and jobs.&nbsp;</p><p>The project contributes to this objective by</p><ul><li>identifying trade and investment opportunities along regional value chains with potential at continental scale in Africa, including potential for investment by EU economic operators;</li><li>Strengthening the EU-Africa dialogue on trade and economic integration, informing high-level events such as the upcoming AU-EU Summit and European- African Business Forum (EABF)</li><li>identifying pilot/selected continental value chains that could be targeted for support in the EU 2021-27 aid programming exercise.</li></ul><p>It supports the implementation of the AfCFTA and ITC&apos;s One Trade Africa Initiative.</p>

<p>The project aims to sustainably increase the income of women horticulture producers and processors in The Gambia, who were disproportionately affected by the socio-economic crisis triggered by COVID-19. Focusing on the horticultural sector, the project establishes a market-led digital agricultural value chain platform, links horticultural cooperatives, buyers, and other value chain actors to the platform, provides direct support to women farmers, and increases coordination and efficiency in production, storage, and distribution in the sector.&nbsp;</p><p>The digital value chain platform allows farmers, wholesalers, processors, and other value chain actors to interact and build partnerships for transactions. In the initial phase of the project, the system focuses on domestic market linkages to address the most pressing needs and gaps created by the pandemic and economic crisis. It targets food importers who are interested in sourcing local produce, government institutions such as hospitals and schools, and tourism establishments. As the country recovers from the current crisis, the system will be expanded to accommodate needs to boost international trade by working with existing exporters and export-ready companies which can use the platform to improve their sourcing through supply chain efficiency, transparency, and compliance.</p><p><br></p>

<p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 7.5pt; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">The project promotes the use of earth as a sustainable building material alternative to beach sand in The Gambia. This directly contributes to the reduction of sand mining in the coastal zones and therefore coastal</span><span lang="IT" style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp;erosion&nbsp;</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">which has threatened coastal lives</span>. <span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p> </p><p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 7.5pt; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Build 4 Good Project establishes a C</span><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">entre</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp;of Excellence in partnership with the Gambia Earth Builders Association, which houses a secretariat, hosts training sessions, and facilitates activities to promote of the use of compressed stabilised earth blocks as an alternative building material. The intervention aims to showcase the technology and change perceptions around compressed stabilised earth blocks as the building material of choice.</span> At the same time, the project will improve the knowledge and skills of Gambian women and youth in earth building. Vocational training programmes in block making and masonry are tailored to create sustainable jobs and income. <span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span lang="EN-US"></span></p>

<p>The project funded by German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) focuses on enhanced financial and business development capacities of Gambian MSMEs, improved and formalized apprenticeships for the Gambian youth, and cash-for-work opportunities. Through the provision of small grants and complementary coaching services, the project provides business development support to entrepreneurs. It further fosters technical and vocational training through the implementation of formalized apprenticeship programmes in high growth sectors such as construction, agro-processing, the creative industries, and garment making. Simultaneously, the project supports master craftsperson to meet improved training standards. To support the recovery from the pandemic, the project additionally implements short-term skills programmes in construction and refurbishment projects which generate income for the trainees.</p>