ActionAid International in the Gambia has recently trained more small scale business women on business management.
The latest group comprises 50 women from 34 villages in Niamina West district in the Central River Region. The training, held in Choya village, was part of activities being implemented under the EC funded project “Promoting women’s socio-economic rights in Central River Region”.
During the training the women were taught, enterprise management, the business environment and enterprise culture, understanding the local economy and key business concepts, record keeping and financial management, among others.
According to the Coordinator of the EC funded project, Pansaw Nyassi, “The idea behind this training is to strengthen the capacity of small scale business women in business management to improve their skills and knowledge in the management of their income generating activities”.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Programme Coordinator for ActionAid’s field office in Kudang, Foday Kanyi emphasized the importance of the training in the day to day management of the women’s already established businesses, saying it will improve their small scale businesses which range from poultry production, soap making, selling vegetables, rice, palm oil, groundnuts, animal rearing and making pancakes. Kanyi advised them to take the training seriously and to interact with each other so as to exchange better ideas.
The trainer, Bakary Fofana from the Rural Development Institute in Mansakonko, expressed similar sentiments and urged the women to seize the opportunity and take full advantage of the training and his presence there, so as to maximize their profits and further expand their businesses.
‘This training will be good for me’, says Jewo Jallow from Demba Kunda in Niamina west. ‘I have embarked on poultry production and marketing for almost two years now, yet I don’t have the skills required to run the business. With this training, I will be able to manage the business effectively and efficiently. For instance, I will be able to separate my capital from my profit, and to recognize if I am running at a loss’, she concluded. Jewo appealed to her fellow participants to apply the knowledge gained with fellow women who are unable to attend the training.
The overall objective of the project – Promoting women’s socio economic rights in Central River Region is to contribute to gender equity in The Gambia by promoting women’s access to socio economic rights and economic empowerment. So far, three hundred and seventy women from Niamina East, Niamina West and Niamina Dankunku districts have been trained on business management under the project.
