What attracts investors into a country is a matter of scholarly debate in our today’s highly optionate and talkative society. Some believed that political institutions are the most important determinants and others say government fiscal policies (e.g., spending and taxation). Whatever your opinion; The Gambia, one of the greatest explosions of new possibilities in Africa, is lucrative for investment.
The Gambia is located on the west coast of Africa, with an area of 11,300 sq km and a population of 1,882,450 million people, with an annual population growth rate estimated at 3.2% (source: 2013 census of the Gambia Bureau of statistics).
It has minimal political risk and stable economic policy. The absence of internal conflicts, religious and ethnic tensions; and efficient law and order are worth applause. It follows democratic norms, encourage free-market policies and foster prospective business climates. Its membership to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) trading bloc ensures market access to over 300 million people. The large presence of foreign banks suggests that substantial amounts of credit can be supply to the private sector and also fewer controls on interest rates. On the technological sector the country has the highest teledensity in Africa –as confirmed by the 12th annual innovation Africa Digital Summit (IADS) held in the Gambia in 2014. The Gambia plans to become an ICT hub in the next 3-5 years.
For example, two among the many sectors that any serious investor cannot over look are—Tourism and Agriculture— The Gambia is a true tourism hub with over 200,000 visitors (mainly Europeans) every year. With the growing number of tourists, the development of hotels, holiday resorts, and private estates in identified and famous tourist destinations (locally known as TDA) of the country, presents an excellent investment opportunity. The country offers competitive operational costs, motivated labour force, and training subsidies from Government and private Institutions.
The country’s airport, cruise facilities and telecommunications are among the best in Africa. With low crime rate, clean and green environment, and an efficient public transportation system, the country is a great place in which to work, live and play. It’s openness to international capital and technology, investment-friendly policies and support for free-market competition is in a league of its own. Interestingly for investors, Eco-tourism is still under-exploited. With abundant nature and wilderness, this segment of tourism offers exciting investment opportunities in: safaris canoeing, game drives, nature walks, Sport fishing, etc. So turn your vision into a reality.
Someone once say, “I can think of no better asset to own during any kind of financial crisis than farmland or investing in agriculture stocks”. It is indisputable that Agricultural assets are unique amongst resource investments in that, with the right management, they will continue to produce valuable commodities in perpetuity. The Gambia have vast area of agricultural lands and land acquisitions is governed in a way that it can be beneficial for all stakeholders—companies, startups, governments, and farmers.The Government and FAO Gambia office are promoting responsible investment in agriculture through empirical research and by supporting various consultation processes. So, agriculture represents an enormous opportunity for investors, both in terms of the sheer untapped scale of the asset class and the returns agricultural investors are likely to realize.
In conclusion, The Gambia have a friendly business environment as well as adequate educational and training facilities (University of The Gambia, American international university, GTTI and many other private and government institutions) to develop human capital. In fact the Gambia can boast of successful writers, scientists, doctors, entrepreneurs, computer programmers, Lawyers, Bankers the list goes on.
So, if you are thinking of starting a new business or diversifying your investments and minimise associated risks; Think The Gambia.
About Author
Simon F Mendy is a social media intern with Gamjobs.com. He is an IT enthusiast who love writing and keep his readers always on the loop of latest happening around jobs and employment in the Gambia. Simon held a Bsc in computer science and mathematics from the university of The Gambia. He has strong interest in object oriented Software development process, especially using .Net and Java based technologies. You can follow him: https://www.facebook.com/simon.mendy.12