By Lamarana S Jallow
National Enterprise Development Initiative (NEDI) on Saturday, 14th October, 2023 graduated a total number of one hundred and fifty young people who completed an intensive six months training and coaching on Small and Minimum Enterprises (SME) Loop for businesses that are in the agricultural value chain sectors.
The beneficiaries are young people from the Upper River Region, Lower River Region and Greater Banjul Area.
The project is supported by GIZ-ECOWAS Fund for Regional Stabilisation and Development (FRSD) and implemented by NEDI.
In his remarks, Hon Bakary Y. Badjie, Minister of Youth and Sports said through training, coaching, and connections with business development services, this programme has supported young people in their entrepreneurial endeavours and that after these few months, they should be prepared to pass the torch to a new cohort of individuals. He hailed NEDI for successfully implementing the programme.
“This achievement is a testament to the tireless efforts of your trainers and coaches, who have dedicated an extraordinary amount of time and energy to get you to this point. And many of you have shown the same level of dedication by actively participating in this programme,” he said.
Minister Badjie assured partners that his ministry through NEDI will continue to provide entrepreneurship training and financial support to motivate youth in order to harness their diverse potentials, and creativities into enterprise creation and at the same time instilling in them the virtues of self-reliance.
Mr. Musa Mbye, Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry and representative of the NEDI board chairman, told the beneficiaries: “Now that you have successfully passed the challenges of SME Loop, it’s time for you to move on to a bigger fight for the advanced journey of business and entrepreneurship”.
He said the lessons learned will surely help them get through that next stage, but they also need to remember that all those formulas and everything they have memorised are not the only things that will help them through to retain the things learned.
He thanked ECOWAS-GIZ for the funding, noting that this will go a long way towards addressing skill acquisition challenges.
Abdoulie Jallow, the team leader for ECOWAS - GIZ expressed gratitude for the successful implementation of the project. He assured NEDI of their continuous support to the welfare of young people and thanked NEDI for their hard work and dedication to achieving the goal of the project.
Mam Lisa Camara, General Manager of NEDI, said the beneficiaries had worked hard to earn professional designations in their fields but urged them to search for more vital resources that may be missing out as they try to propel their leadership journey to the next level.
“My institution, NEDI, will support you all the way through your journey to advancing your businesses’’ Ms Camara assured.
