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GCCI President Statement at Meet The Press 2019Good morning, I have the pleasure to welcome members of the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry and our guest to the MTP 2019.

We sincerely thank you for attending this MTP, which is my last as President of our esteemed organization.

We have come to the end of another chapter in the history of the GCCI in its continuous efforts to advance the interests of our members and the private sector.

There has been some major achievements of the GCCI during my tenure as President of the GCCI, with the support of my fellow Board Members.

Governance The Chamber throughout my Presidency has been continuously working with members in the repositioning and rebranding of GCCI to be the transformative voice of the business community. This has only been achieved by promoting, safeguarding and providing services, knowledge and resources to our members and the Gambian Business community.

Through support from the UNDP project – Entrepreneurship and Private Sector Development Project managed by the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment. The GCCI contracted Fyen Consulting to develop a five-year strategic plan (2019-2023) to guide the chamber in strategically positioning itself to support its members after several years of challenging economic times.

The strategic plan of GCCI focuses on five key priorities, which are:

· Funding Business Sustainability, · Cultivating and mobilizing existing and new members, · Advocate and Protect Business Interest. · Enhancing Employment Policies and Practices

Strengthening GCCI

Financials At the beginning of my Presidency, inadequate financial resources had been a major setback for GCCI in terms of addressing the growing demands of the private sector. Today, we glad to announce that Kerr Jula is now stronger than ever; we have managed to increase our Accumulated fund 16 fold from GMD 1,229,285 (2012) to an estimated fund of around GMD 17,000,000 (2018). Although we pride ourselves as being a non-profit and non-partisan, we

have been able to maintain an average surplus of more than GMD4M in the last 5 years and which we will continue to re-invest in the private sector and strengthen our members through various programs and support services. Total revenue continues to rise yearly, with 2018 being the most performing year in my presidency achieving a high of over GMD21M. Our various fund raising activities include the yearly and highly recognised annual Trade Fair Gambia International. We continue to develop other areas in line with our members’ interests particularly the ECOWAS Inter-State Road Transit scheme and the National Business Award. Our asset turnover ratio indicates that the Kerr Jula generates GMD 0.66 of revenue for every GMD1 of assets that the company employs in 2018 compared with a GMD 0.26 of revenue generated for every GMD1 of assets that the company employed in 2012. By thriving in our financial performance, we have become more efficient in the implementation of projects and development of MSMEs. At the Chamber, we believe Sustainability is essential to fulfil our mission and serve the private sector over time. Hence, we have been engaging constantly with local and international strategic partners to support long-term programmes for the benefit of our members and the business community. Trade Fair The annual Trade Fair Gambia International has since progressively evolved into a household event in The Gambia. It is also the biggest trade fair organised in the country as it continues to attract over 60,000 visitors from all backgrounds. The tireless efforts of the chamber has resulted in the increase of stalls allocation of around 250 when we took over six years to host more than 420 exhibitions last year. We can proudly say that we are still aiming to grow this and to become bigger every year. Youth Involvement GCCI continues to actively pursue its commitment in promoting youth involvement and engagement. Through partnership with YEP, Konrad, GIZ and other stakeholders which are youth centred. Agriculture, Food, Fashion & Handicraft sectors have been a big part of youth businesses. Networking events, business skills training, YEP involvement in trade fair (Youth Pavilion), business incubation centre youth orientated, Start & Improve Your Business (SIYB), now Youth App. Young entrepreneur of the year - Business Awards. Our focus on this Youth segment cannot be overemphasized with a 60% population and our future relying on their prospective success or failure.

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Capacity During our tenure, to ensure continued transformation to meet demanding needs of a sophisticated membership utilizing ICT, as well as to plan for sustained and better succession, we increased the number of professional staff at the GCCI and invest on more training opport unities for staff locally and internationally. One of our staff members completed an MBA programme in 2018 following 2 years of study leave. Currently, two staff members ar e enrolled on Bachelor’s degree programmes and three more are pursuing Master’s degree programmes. Through support from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), the GCCI is commissioning and installing a solar project that will supply the GCCI head office at Kerr Jula, Bijilo and the GCCI National Trade Fair Site at Brusubi 109.25kW solar system. The AfDB has also supported the GCCI by procuring computers, printers and projectors for the GCCI and tents to be used for GCCI trade fairs. To finally conclude, it is crucial for both private and public institutions to create stronger business-to-business connections in order to benefit from synergies; and should encourage creation of more public- private partnerships. It is not only the responsibility of the Government but also the private sector to develop the next generation of business le aders through skills development, networking forums, trainings and strengthening of business’s corporate social responsibility. I am confident that the GCCI is on full course to better things and serving its membership more responsively, relevant and re presentative than when we took over. Our success as a Board has only been possible because of the great determination and passion of the Kerr Jula staff, who on a daily basis work tirelessly to deliver the best service to our members. I thank you all for making the Chamber what it is today. I would take this opportunity to thank my fellow Board Members, both current and past for the support they gave me as the Pre sident and the confidence bestowed on me during some of our most challenging moments during my two terms. Thank You, God Bless The Gambia

Is Money, the Biggest Motivator at Work? As people have different needs, therefore money’s significance cannot be denied in any era. It is the primary objective of most people to attain the optimum benefits for their efforts in life. Everyone is striving hard to fulfill his/her needs in order to occupy a reasonable position in society. Never-ending necessities and desires compel a person to work day in and day out. All these efforts are centered towards fulfillment of financial

obligations. Recent recession has resulted in enormous rise in inflationary rate, affecting the whole world and making lives more mechanical, resulting in further stress, frustration and economic pressure in general. Now employees require improved salary packages since monetary benefits are the primary source of attraction towards the job for most people, where they can survive and fulfill their requirements once they are done with the basic necessities. Monetary benefits exclusively cannot stimulate employee performance. Besides, formulating reasonable salary packages, employees can be motivated by creating inspiring work environment, enhancing two-way communication, increasing job satisfaction, providing encouragement and rewarding them for their valuable (individual/team) contributions as well as having fun along with work. It is a comprehensible fact that when an individual is at his/her entry or middle level, his/her drive for monetary benefits is at a higher side in most cases as compared to those, who are working at a superior level. Senior employees largely seek recognition along with monetary benefits as they wish to satisfy their self-esteem and professional ego. Therefore, they require greater ownership in what they do. The needs and priorities change at different levels, even a single homogeneous salary

proposal cannot please and satisfy everyone, despite the fact that they are at the same work level because people also differ in their approach towards life. Furthermore, monetary gains can only be used to retain employees on a short-term basis. One cannot expect to retain prospects with a never-ending endowment of bonuses and increments as financial limitations are always there. In a nutshell, if companies intend to fairly reward and recognize employees, they will be happier, stay longer and will be mo re productive. In my opinion, “money is the biggest motivator, yet not the ONLY motivator.”

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Meetings and Discussions with GCCI

TradeFairGambiaInternational2019 andtheGCCI

YouthApplaunching

TheUnitedNationsDepartmentOFPoliticalAffairsmissionhelda

meetingtoassesstheimpactofUnitedNationsPreventivediplo-

macyeffortsinTheGambiawithinthebroadereffortsoftheinter-

nationalcommunityandnationalgovernmenttosustainpeace

duringandafterthe2016/2017politicalimpasse.

MeetingwithFAOmissionfortheprojectDesignandformulation

ofNEMAIIfollow-upproject,whichwillbetargetingproducers,

cooperativeandSMEsespeciallyintheAgribusinessfield.

TheteamfromtheMalaProjectandtheDepartmentofBusi-

nessDevelopmentdiscussingabouttheGCCIYouthAppwith

GIZrepresentative.

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New members for the month of January

Company Name Business Activities Contact Person Afri Real Estate & Construction

Co.Ltd Real Estate & Land Development,

Construction

Ms. Tijan Jallow

AI Trading General Merchandise Mr. Ibrahima Diallo

B. Ceesay Enterprise General Merchandise Mr. Baboucarr Ceesay

Bawdo Transport Ltd Transport (Basalt) Mr. Abubakar Bensuda

Ceesay's Cosmetic General Trading ( Fashion & Cos- metics)

Ms. Bintou Ceesay

Dem's Trading Enterprise Stationery & Office Equipment Mr. Musa Dem Dongoroba Women Develop-

ment Association

Agriculture & Agro Business

Ms. Hawa Sillah

Faal Auto Spare Parts Spare Parts Shop Mr. Mbye Faal

Flamant Rose Events Events Planning Ms. Ajaratou Cisse Fatty

Gamdesigner An E- Commerce Platform that is

focused on the sales made in Gambia

Ms. Sarifatou Jallow

Country Date Event

Pragati Maidan, New Delhi

3rd February - 5th February 2019 India Industrial Automation and Robotics Expo 2019

Rajkot, Gujarat

11th February - 15th February 2019 6th Edition of SVUM 2019 Interna-

tional Trade Show

Lisboa, Portugal 25th February - 27th February 2019

SISAB Portugal– International Trade Fair for Portuguese Food

and Beverage

Kuwait

5th March - 8th March 2019 Exceptional Edition of the Tourism

and Handicrafts Fair of the OIC member states.

Mumbai, India

6th March - 8th March 2019

8th Global Economic Summit

Abidjan, Ivory Coast

28th March - 7th April 2019

Abidjan International Trade Fair

Bakau, The Gambia

6th April - 28th April 2019

Trade Fair Gambia International