The Gambia National Policy for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) 2019-2024.

This Policy originates from the consideration that Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSME) are essential to economic growth, wealth and employment creation for poor, low-skilled workers, and have broader social impacts, such as access to health care, improved housing, access to education and other social safety nets. The Policy provides definition and characteristics of Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises and focuses on these challenges of the business environment in the Gambia: access to finance, capital and credit; taxation; poor quality infrastructure; access to electricity; registration systems; absence of a land policy to shape land governance including arrangements of tenure, access, use, security and administration: land registries, together with cadasters are used around the world to map, prove and secure property rights and therefore registered property rights are important to support investment, productivity and growth.
The vision of this Policy, covering a period from 2019 to 2024, concerns a vibrant and sustainable MSME sector that embodies the concept of inclusive growth and contributes to employment, national development and poverty reduction through the following elements: a well educated population; creation of an appropriate business-friendly environment; competition; government support to organisations and enterprises in the poorer parts of the country. The Policy focuses on productive sectors, such as agriculture, industry, food processing and services as tourism. The objectives of the Policy concern: the establishment of an efficient and effective MSME sector that both serves the needs of the poorer members of society and serves the needs of national economic growth and development, with a focus on women and youth; the implementation of programmes aimed at simplification and rationalisation of procedures and regulations; alternative finance systems; development of a social safety net; harmonisation of taxation system; encouraging the use of technology, with a strong public-private-partnership and involvement with international organisations for technology transfer; infrastructure improvement, including investment in renewable energy sources and fisheries infrastructure for increasing fish export.