The Gambia Pilot Program is part of the “Regional Stabilisation and Development Fund for Financial Cooperation in ECOWAS Member States” which has been agreed between The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The overall objective of “The Gambia Pilot Program” is to contribute to the stability and sustainable development of The Gambia through the creation of new employment and income opportunities, especially for youth. Empowerment of the youth shall be achieved by the Program components:

• Financing basic infrastructure and equipment along selected value chains (horticulture, poultry, fish)
• Investing in vocational training and skills development for youth along the selected value chains
• Strengthening local capacities and governance

Vocational schools as well as community and privately owned enterprises will benefit from the project interventions for upgrading their infrastructure and capacities along the selected value chains. Special focus will be on adding value through food processing, storage, transportation and marketing. The Program generally follows an ‘open approach’ whereby most investment projects shall be selected in a participatory way based on competitive application procedures.

This ensures that

• projects will be chosen for funding via objective selection criteria,
• the selection will involve technical experts but also major stakeholders incl. youth organisations and competent regional NGOs,
• the best projects with the highest impact and sustainability will be forwarded for funding through a competitive application procedure.

Applicants for grants, stakeholders and multiplicators (e.g. agricultural extension services) will be prepared and trained for this innovative process during preparation and implementation of their investment projects.