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Access to capital in The Gambia

cbg_bldg1 The Central Bank of The Gambia

Background

Women constitute almost half of the country’s population, hence they contribute significantly to the socio economic development of The Gambia. However, they are constrained by a whole range of economic, social and cultural factors from successfully accessing financial services. The property rights in rural areas and the consequent control of assets are usually heavily tilted against women. This poses a serious obstacle for women to enter the credit markets due to lack of security.

Introduction to Financial Systems

The Gambia Financial System has evolved rapidly over the last several years, and is markedly liberalised now. Most interest rates are freely determined, direct controls have been eliminated, exchange controls abolished and the country has moved to indirect system of monetary controls using open market operations. These measures increased competition in the domestic financial system.

As a result of developments and policy practices changes in the legislation have also taken place. The Financial Institutions Act (FIA), Central Bank Act (CBG Act) have been revised. The FIA Act 2003 has been enacted while the CBG Act 1992 is almost in its final stage of revision. The Insurance Act 2003 and the Money Laundering Act 2003 have also been enacted.

Importance of Financial Inclusion

Financial Inclusion (FI), which promotes access and the use of high-quality financial services, particularly among poor and women, is crucial to achieving inclusive growth. Access to capital can open up economic opportunities for women hence positively impacting their development. There are many financial Institutions that offer access to finance to women, these include both Micro Financial and Commercial Banks. 

There are many financial Institutions that offer access to finance to women, these include both Commercial Banks and Micro Finance Institutions. 

List of Commercial Banks

Currently there are 13 Banks in the Industry namely:

  1. Standard Chartered Bank
  2. Trust Bank Ltd
  3. FBN Bank
  4. Arab Gambia Islamic Bank
  5. First International Bank
  6. Guaranty Trust Bank
  7. Mega Bank
  8. Access Bank Gambia Limited
  9. Ecobank (Gambia) Ltd
  10. Bank Sahelo-Saherienne Pour L'investissement et le commerce (BSIC)
  11. Prime Bank (Gambia) Ltd
  12. Skye Bank (Gambia) Ltd
  13. Zenith Bank

​​​​​​For more information about the above mentioned banks, visit www.cbg.gm  

Micro Financial Institutions

A micro finance institution is an organization that offers financial services to low income populations. Almost all give loans to their members, and many offer insurance, deposit and other services. Micro finance has a significant role in bridging the gap between the formal financial institutions and the rural poor.

angle-left Social Development Fund (SDF) in The Gambia

Social Development Fund (SDF) in The Gambia

Social Development Fund (SDF)

SDF is a Trust Company that mobilizes resources and funds on behalf of The Government of The Gambia and donors for wholesaling to a multitude of qualified retail financial intermediaries. Most of their clients (80%) are women, however they cater for both genders.

The SDF engages in outright provision of capital to intermediaries for onward lending to end-users in need of seed capital or capital for expanding their businesses.

They direct their wholesale lending operations to prudentially and soundly managed intermediaries categorized into three main groups with different approaches and different conditions. These three categories include; Micro Financial Institutions (MFIs), Individual credit Unions, Community Based Organizations (CBOs) & Kafoos

CBOs and Kafoos are more appropriate for women entrepreneurs, has the following features;

  1. Easy loan application process;
  2. Maximum loan size GMD1,million;
  3. Most affordable and efficient fixed interest rate;
  4. Fixed monthly payments for principal and interest with up to 3 months grace period for principal;
  5. Maturity tenor of 12 months;
  6. Disbursement in tranches of 100% unless agreed otherwise agreed; and
  7. Monthly monitoring.

Requirements

  1. Account statements from past year;
  2. Loan portfolio quality report;
  3. Detail reports of all previous loans from the SDF and other agencies;
  4. Detail report of any problems that occurred in previous contracts including high default rates; and
  5. Clear governance and operational management structure with well defined roles;
  6. Evidence of been legally constituted and engaged in an economic activity for a period of not less than 1 year.
  7. Evidence of corporate bank account with at least two signatories
  8. Have track record of micro lending covering at least 1 year
  9. Detail report of current end borrowers.

To help clients with effective utilization of their loans, they offer the following services;

  • Provision of technical advisory platforms,
  • Capacity Building – pre loan training before disbursement
  • Business advisory services
  • Community sensitization programmes

For more information, visit www.sdfgambia.gm

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