By Ndey Sowe
The Gambia Youth Chamber of Commerce (GYCC) has Tuesday at the National Nutrition Agency (NaNA) Conference Hall in Bakau convened a two-day awareness creation seminar on The Africa Continent Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA).
The convergent brought together 30 young entrepreneurs to discuss the theme: “Enhancing the Capacity of Youth and Women Cross Boarder Traders on Non-Trade Barriers and its Reporting Mechanism to Facilitate Intra-Africa Trade.”
The ongoing seminar is funded by the Entrepreneurship and Private Sector Development Project hosted by the Ministry of Trade (MoTIE) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The agreement establishing the Africa Continent Free Trade is a legal instrument and agreement among African Union Member states to create a single market.
Ismaila Sambou, NYCC Board President, said the AfCFTA is a catalyst for new ways of doing business, producing, working and trading within Africa and the rest of the world.
Omar Kandeh, National Focal Point for Non- Tariff Barriers at the Ministry of Trade, said the country can reap the perceive benefits of the AfCFTA especially with the cohort of Gambian youth entrepreneurs.
“The African Continental Free Trade Area is a free trade area found in 2018 with trade commencing on the first of January, 2021. With a population of 1.2 Billion, the AfCFTA creates one trillion dollars single market for goods and services that is intended to boost intra-Africa trade, economic growth, industrial development and improve the livelihood of citizens for all member states,” he said.
Alagie Jarju, Executive Director for National Youth Council (NYC) and Abdou Touray representing the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), both applauded GYCC for the laudable initiative by creating space for young entrepreneurs to know the avenues of the AfCFTA.
Both urged the participants to take the sessions seriously and assured their continued collaboration with GYCC for the development of young entrepreneurs.
