Gambian exporters welcome 16th AGOA Resource Center as network expands
Friday, October 7 2011
For the last five years, exports from the Gambia have steadily increased – but they are still much lower than they could be, business leaders said. They are hopeful for improvements after a new AGOA Resource Center – the 16th in the region – opened in the country’s capital in September.
See a complete list of all AGOA Resource Centers in West Africa - with contact information!
U.S. Ambassador Pamela White, right, cuts the ribbon on the new center with Naffie Barry of Gambia's Ministry of Trade, Regional Integration and Employment.
The new center, housed at the Gambia Investment and Export Promotion Agency, also serves to foster the development of strategies to increase exports.
“AGOA is not just about the numbers,” said Abou Fall, USAID Trade Hub AGOA Services Manager. “In fact, the real story of AGOA are the trade dialogues it has initiated and sustained for roughly the last 10 years, since it was launched in 2001.”
“AGOA has led to a leveraging of resources, it has facilitated dialogue, it has fostered the creation and growth of industry alliances, it has built capacity for doing business – and all that that entails – on both sides of the Atlantic.”
The new center is the next step on developing that dialogue in The Gambia.
“For a very long time, the Gambia has been trying to leverage its export potential,” explained Almami Taal, CEO of the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “Information and facilitation like this was not available. Establishing the AGOA Resource Center here … is going to be very critical to the development of the export strategy by government and Gambian businesses.”
The new center is a clearinghouse of information – providing access to thousands of documents on exporting – and it links exporters to numerous other resources, including industry alliances that have helped companies address broader constraints, like the high cost of transport and obstacles to obtaining finance.
“The issues African companies face in transport, access to finance and the business environment will not be resolved on a company by company basis,” Fall said. “Broad-based efforts are necessary. The resource centers bring the private and public sectors together and leverage resources from many corners to tackle these issues.”
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