When it comes to youth in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), finding consistent and fulfilling employment after completing school can be hard. Many employers in LDCs are looking for specific skill sets that are rare or in high demand yet not part of a standard school curricula. Therefore, employment sometimes can be sparse for home-schooled individuals and graduates, whether from high school, or other vocational institutions that might not have specializations that are needed.

In the Gambia, this disparity is noted by the United Nations (UN) and the local government. Enriching youth with the knowledge and know-how to fill much-needed jobs in continental Africa's smallest nation is crucial for the country's development. For the nation that straddles the Gambia River to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 1, which aims to eradicate poverty, different organizations and the local government need to address this issue.

© UNCDF / Nasser AlQatami 2023

“The youth are crying all over the world – but in The Gambia in particular – the high unemployment rate which is mostly from the youth segment, 18 – 35 years old,” said Niania Dabo UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) Project Coordinator in The Gambia. “It’s a big problem and one that UNCDF sought to address, working with The Gambian government and other UN partners.”

Realizing the depth of the matter, UNCDF teamed up with the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the Gambian government to work on ways to expand and diversify opportunities for people seeking jobs that require much-needed skillsets. Thanks to funding from the European Union (EU), the programme was designed to improve youth and women's employability, which would, in turn, make them eligible for jobs with sturdier and more stable sources of income.

This initiative was crucial to tackling youth unemployment and equipping women with productive skills. UNCDF managed assessments in rural and urban areas to determine the employment needs of specific groups and villages. ITC has the courses and capacity-building abilities to address the identified needs. This is how the partnership came about, the first of its kind in the country, named the Jobs, Skills and Finance (JSF) for Youth and Women Programme.

The JSF Programme, funded by the European Union, launched in 2018 taking a whole of society approach to supporting the government’s transition to multi-party democracy with targeted actions to address social and economic needs that had long suffered from under-investment – including in the under-employed young workforce. Activities positively impacted the lives of hundreds of thousands of Gambians and focused on the promotion of access to finance, reinforcing decentralization processes, and strengthening national capacities to support local economic development with a particular focus on women and youth, while simultaneously improving the climate change resilience of communities.

The JSF programme provided training for 3,588 individuals like Sankumba Jabbi who is 34, and created temporary jobs for over 6,000 more people. Jabbi enrolled in a 6-month programme with 3-month work-experience attachments to learn more about solar energy, financing and sales. He took the time out during the COVID pandemic to learn a new skill set, which started in 2020 and ended in 2021.

Upon completing the courses, Jabbi opened his first-ever shop, also the first shop his family had. Named Nibrass Solar and Electrical Enterprises, it is now a standing store on the outskirts of Banjul International Airport. It straddles an area in the middle of two populations that face two different issues with electricity – one that experiences many power outages throughout the day and another that is entirely off the grid.

© UNCDF / Nasser AlQatami 2023

The shop is now a mainstay in the area and is frequently visited by people who need solar solutions or general fixes. He now has the expertise to inform the local population of ways they can access electricity and create financing packages for them to afford these appliances.

Jabbi said: "The business is moving smoothly and making good profits because now I sell these products, and I know how to repair them. Some clients come to me because they want to ensure that their agricultural produce doesn't spoil."

Jabbi's life before the training courses provided by the JSF Programme was very different. He explained that he had been unemployed for ten years prior to taking the classes. He occasionally took odd jobs to make ends meet and provide for his family. These jobs included hard labour in informal constructions, from carrying bricks to digging ditches. The jobs were sporadic and happened through word-of-mouth. They were unsustainable and extremely tiring. Sometimes, he would go for months without work.

© UNCDF / Nasser AlQatami 2023

"The programme has helped me a lot because now I have job security and I employ people to help me at the shop with sales and repair. I can afford to take care of my four children, whom I am teaching about the electrical and solar fields after they come from school," said Jabbi

The shop sits on a dirt road that connects many villages. He employs three people, one of whom is a young woman who also graduated from ITC's training courses and is seeking to start her own business one day.

With the national certification he received upon completion of the course, which is approved by the National Accreditation and Quality Assurance Authority (NAQAA), he can work almost anywhere in the country and even in neighbouring Senegal. However, Jabbi opted to start his own business, which he began with a starting capital of 35,000 Gambian Dalasis (US $520 approximately); now his company is estimated at around 175,000 Gambian Dalasis (US $2,596 approximately) if he sells everything and closes all the financing packages that he offered to clients. However, he maintains that his ultimate goal is expansion.

Jabbi wants to employ more women and youth, preferably ones who graduated from the same training courses he has followed, with different skill sets like accounting. He says, "Many people consider financing as delaying payments; however, it's a good way to get steady and gradual income. The increments I ask them to pay, which I learned from the courses, allow me to have sustainable income and allow the clients time to build their businesses."

The solar panels and other solar solutions in his store cater to many needs in the communities that use the road on which the shop sits. He says some people use it to refrigerate their local crops like mint, lettuce and tomatoes, while others use it to power up their cell phones and TVs.

The shop also sells satellite receivers to help families stay tuned to news and radio stations. One of his receivers, the most sold item in the shop, provides a connection to Nilesat, giving access to 300 channels from across the world.

Jabbi is currently renting the shop. His dream is to be able to buy the shop and considerably cut the cost of running his business. He says this is just the first step, as he aspires to open other stores and employ more Gambian youth.

Before the interview ended, Jabbi said: "I would like to thank everyone involved in creating the JSF Programme because they made my dreams and my colleagues’ dreams come true. Without them, I would not be here today, and they completely changed my life when I needed it the most."

Nibrass Solar and Electrical Enterprises has expanded to provide solar solutions, electrical repair, and appliances as well as selling non-perishable goods for purchase.

© UNCDF / Nasser AlQatami 2023

The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is the United Nations' flagship catalytic financing entity for the world’s 45 least developed countries (LDCs). With its unique capital mandate and focus on the LDCs, UNCDF works to invest and catalyse capital to support these countries in achieving the sustainable growth and inclusiveness envisioned by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Doha Programme of Action for the least developed countries, 2022–2031.

UNCDF builds partnerships with other UN organizations, as well as private and public sector actors, to achieve greater impact in development, specifically by unlocking additional resources and strengthening financing mechanisms and systems contributing to transformation pathways, focusing on such development themes as green economy, digitalization, urbanization, inclusive economies, gender equality, and women’s economic empowerment.

A hybrid development finance institution and development agency, UNCDF uses a combination of capital instruments (deployment, financial and business advisory and catalysation) and development instruments (technical assistance, capacity development, policy advice, advocacy, thought leadership, and market analysis and scoping), which are applied across five priority areas (inclusive digital economies, local transformative finance, women’s economic empowerment, climate, energy, and biodiversity finance, and sustainable food systems finance).