The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is bringing its expertise in promoting climate resilience through local development finance and financial inclusion in support of job creation for women and youth in The Gambia.

On Tuesday the 9^th of October 2018, UNCDF officially launched the “Jobs, Skills and Finance (JSF) for Women and Youth in The Gambia Programme.” The JSF Programme is funded by the European Union (EU) and aims to contribute in stabilizing the economic, social and security situation of the country during the democratic transition by facilitating social inclusion and employment of the youth and women, with a specific emphasis on promoting gender equality and addressing climate change.

The Programme will be implemented by UNCDF in partnership with the International Trade Centre (ITC) and under the tutelage of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs of The Gambia.

“UNCDF has a footprint in over 30 Least Developed Countries across the world with vast expertise in local development finance and financial inclusion, making it uniquely positioned to offer comprehensive support to private sector actors and local governments who in turn contribute to the job creation for women and youth in The Gambia” said Stéphane Meert, Head of Cooperation for the EU Delegation to The Gambia.

This is exciting news for The Gambia as this will potentially translate into increased access to affordable and accessible services offered, new job opportunities, and access to trainings which have the potential to open more economic opportunities especially for youth and women.

With a budget of 16,000,000 EUR, the programme aims to create 3,000 direct jobs for youth and women. Through a combination of grants, technical assistance and convening power, the programme will aim to:

• Increase employment of women and youth through green and resilient economies–by supporting local authorities and communities to develop climate resilient investments that in turn can create job opportunities for vulnerable groups through “cash for work” (C4W) and procurement to local micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
• Improve opportunities in education and skills development for women, youth and MSMEs – by providing support to TVETs and other local training providers to improve the quality, and accessibility of vocational training schemes offered to youth and women which will be linked to the C4W opportunities and key sectors of economic opportunities at the local level.
• Increase access to inclusive finance – by using a market systems approach to support the development and scale up of targeted financial services and products, particularly for women and youth, and the development of financial inclusive markets.

‘Our objective is to ensure that we are leveraging our expertise in local development finance and financial inclusion for women and youth in The Gambia’, noted Maria Perdomo, UNCDF’s Youth Finance Programme Manager.

‘We are confident this program will be a positive contributor in promoting job creation in The Gambia through green and resilient local economies’. added Sophie De Coninck, UNCDF’s Africa Programme Manager for the Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility.

UNCDF makes public and private finance work for the poor in the world’s 47 least developed countries. With its capital mandate and instruments, UNCDF offers “last mile” finance models that unlock public and private resources, especially at the domestic level, to reduce poverty and support local economic development. UNCDF’s financing models work through two channels: financial inclusion that expands the opportunities for individuals, households, and small businesses to participate in the local economy, providing them with the tools they need to climb out of poverty and manage their financial lives; and by showing how localized investments — through fiscal decentralization, innovative municipal finance, and structured project finance — can drive public and private funding that underpins local economic expansion and sustainable development.

By strengthening how finance works for poor people at the household, small enterprise, and local infrastructure levels, UNCDF contributes to SDG 1 on eradicating poverty and SDG 17 on the means of implementation. By identifying those market segments where innovative financing models can have transformational impact in helping to reach the last mile and address exclusion and inequalities of access, UNCDF contributes to a number of different SDGs.