Success stories of 4,800 youths were on Tuesday, 12 October 2021 celebrated after completing a EU-funded business development training.

Former prisoners, backway returnees, high school leavers and school drop outs are amongst those trained in 17 trade areas, personal and business management skills. Participants also got grants and start-up kits to develop their business.

European Union Ambassador to the Gambia, His Excellency, Corrado Pampaloni delivered a key note address at the closing ceremony of the project.

“We are also particularly proud that this intervention could empower a significant number of women who constitute 46% of the total beneficiaries, a number that by far exceeded the 30% quota for women’s participation,” the Ambassador said.

For the European Union, funding such a project and the ‘Tekki Fii’ Program at large are not just about numbers or targets. The core aim is to support youths, especially those who are not in employment, education or training, to find their place in society and to ensure their own livelihood.

“In a sample of over 1500 beneficiaries who took part in a recent survey, over 82% among them confirmed that they had either found employment or were self-employed. This implies that already before the end of the GIZ component, a significant majority of the Beneficiaries could achieve the project’s long-term goals, namely, to earn sufficient income through the skills they acquired to maintain themselves,” Ambassador told the ceremony.

• From another survey conducted in parallel with 428 established enterprises that were supported by the ‘Tekki-Fii’ Project, an average of 2 new jobs per enterprise were created after the Project intervention.

“This, in turn, implies that not only have the Tekki-Fii actions contributed to supporting young people to enter the labour market, but, indirectly, they are also empowering young entrepreneurs to create jobs for their peers. A counterfactual impact evaluation focused on GIZ’s intervention, also funded by the EU, which is expected to run until December 2023 will eventually unveil the long-term impacts of this Project,” he added.

The business and self-reliant project is being implemented by GIZ under the ‘Tekki-Fii’ Banner.The EU launched the programme in 2008, and collaborates with local and central government authorities to empower and offer life skills to Gambian youths.