Women and Children Minister Fatou Kinteh on Thursday re-tabled a bill for the establishment of the Gambia Women Enterprise Fund.
The overall objective of the Women Enterprise Fund is to lift the productivity potential of women entrepreneurs by providing them access to finance, Mrs Kinteh told Gambian lawmakers, while reading the bill for the second time in two days.
“The Gambian economy is characterise by taxpayers in the informal sector with women playing a pivotal role. According to statistics, 63% of small and medium enterprises are micro-enterprises and 90% of these are informal with 80% comprising who form the majority of the population of The Gambia – 51% – and the majority of the poor. Due to inadequate collateral, they rarely access bank loan. This coupled with higher interest rates charged by the banks do not make sure loans appropriate for alleviating poverty, more especially among women,” she told Gambian lawmakers.
The lawmakers have now started debating the bill which if approved will pave way for the setting up of the fund.
Fatou Kinteh was hired as women and children minister last year following the creation of Women and Children ministry.
