About us

About GSNEF

The Gambian Special Needs Entrepreneurial Fund (GSNEF), was established in 2020 thanks to generous funding through a grant from the Arab Bank for the Economic Development of Africa (BADEA) and support from Heeno International. It is a project conceived, initiated, and co-funded by Heeno International Foundation for the Gambia Federation of the Disabled (GFD). The primary objective of the project is to set up a Fund to empower persons with disabilities (or People with Special Needs) in The Gambia with entrepreneurial skills and provide them with seed capital to undertake viable and sustainable trades (businesses) in order to reduce poverty and dependency amongst the disabled or persons/people with special needs and improve their participation in economic activities.

Role of Heeno International

Heeno International is the only Gambian international foundation and one of the very few foundations in Africa that serves the poor and needy in about six African countries without engaging in external fund raising. Heeno International (HI) is the inspiration behind GSNEF and has a commitment to serve the disabled in the Gambia and other African countries. BADEA is the first financial institution that HI has chosen to work with in serving the poor and needy in Africa. HI and the Ministry of Finance signed the Subsidiary agreement on 16th December, 2020. This agreement authourizes HI to head the Steering Committee with project oversight. In addition, the Chairman of Heeno became personally involved in overseeing the management of the Fund and gave the responsibility of managing the Fund in the first phase to persons he trusts 100%. Heeno’s only interest in this project is to make sure it works entirely for the benefit of the disabled.

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Role of the Gambia Federation of the Disabled (GFD)

The GFD is the sole directly beneficiary of this project.The Steering Committee/Advisory Board in the Gambia is headed by the President of the GFD although with the title of Deputy Chair. All beneficiaries are selected exclusively by the GFD without the slightest interference. However, it is to be noted that the GFD does not have the capacity to run this project, the idea of which was conceived and privately financed for them by Heeno from its origins, well before the application to BADEA.

It is for these reasons, the vulnerability of persons with disabilities, and the special attended needed to serve them that the GFD welcomes the special attention of the Chairman of Heeno in this project.

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Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)

The GSNEF is unique in the world, not only because of the inspiration behind it but also for putting in place a basic comprehensive ESG outline right from the beginning. The ESG framework for GSNEF was put together by a Sustainability Advisor and Heeno volunteer, Ms Mariama Sonko. Ms. Sonko also organized a pioneering webinar for the BADEA head office on July 10, 2021. Our ESG activities under the auspices of the GFD/GSNEF/Heeno International include outreach and advocacy, such as:

1. Celebration of International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3rd by GFD and Heeno International.

2. Expert legal advice by the GDF Chairman/GSNEF Deputy Chairman to the Gambian National Assembly before the Persons with Disabilities Act (2021) was passed.

3. Pursuant to Section 55 of the Gambian Disabilities Act and Article 29 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, GFD conducted a workshop for all the 18 Gambian political parties.

4. Appointment by the President of the Gambia of the Chairman of GFD/Deputy Chairman of GSNEF as the Chairman of National Disabilities Advisory Council.

5. A workshop on inclusion of persons with disabilities for all the 18 political parties in the Gambia.

6. Election of the GFD Chairman/GSNEF Deputy Chairman as Secretary General of the West African Federation of the Disabled.

7. Training of women by GDF on the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

8. Training of all the 19 disabled people’s organizations of the Gambia under GFD.

9. Annual General Meeting of GFD.

10. Visiting persons with disabilities throughout the rural areas of the Gambia.

Disbursements

Of the total number of beneficiaries trained so far, microcredit disbursements were piloted with the first batch trained. After the training the first batch in July, 2021, the first disbursements were made on the 4th of September 2021 for twenty participants in the pilot training. After several considerations, including logistical and supply constraints, the board decided to disburse a cash amount of GMD 10,000.00 (Gambian Dalasis) to each beneficiary instead of credit in kind as originally planned. From the twenty participants, 17 were present on the 4th September 2021 at the GFD head office in Kanifing to receive their loans. The 18th person who was unavoidably absent was met and given the GMD 10,000.00. The remaining two of the twenty participants could not be given the GMD 10,000.00 due to their conditions at the time. The beneficiaries were given a month’s grace period and repayment began in October 2021.

Tailoring Training

In order to further and better support the persons with disabilities in the Gambia, the project initiated a tailoring skills acquisition training for some beneficiaries who wished to undertake tailoring as their profession. After much efforts to contract some of the known skill centers for this training, the board eventually settled for SND Design to deliver such skills to the beneficiaries. SND Design was contracted to deliver a six-month intensive tailoring skills training for 25 persons with disabilities in different categories, most of whom again are women. For reasons of logistics the beneficiaries were all selected within the urban area. The board has resolved to provide monthly transportation allowance to four of the participants who are on wheelchairs to ease their movements to and from the training center located in Kololi. Two sign language interpreters have been contracted to provide support to the beneficiaries during training. The training began on the 12th of January 2022.

Activities from June 2022 to August 2023

The GSNEF team (specifically the Steering Committee) continued carrying out numerous responsibilities in running the Fund. These include its engagement of SND Designs to practically train 25 Persons with Disabilities to acquire the knowledge and skills in tailoring for sewing both men and women’s outfits. The training was at first intended for 6 months but the beneficiaries later appealed for extension, through the Steering Committee.
 
Therefore, an additional three months were added to the length of the training making it nine months of intensive training. The training began from January 12, 2022, and ended on the 20th of October 2022. Today, all the 25 trained Persons with Disabilities are qualified tailors awaiting their graduation and sewing machines (one for each) before the end of 2023.
 
After the successful completion of the intensive nine months training, the GSNEF team again developed questionnaires and conducted another survey on the areas of business or types of skills, where or which respectively, Persons With Disabilities intended to be or acquire. They were also asked how they would like the Fund to be disbursed to them: “Cash or equipment?” This was among several questions the beneficiaries were asked with a view to gaining information about their opinions and their conditions. The exercise was done in 2023 in the GOVI Complex where over 200 Persons with Disabilities assembled, most of whom were women.
On November 27, 2022, the Sustainability Advisor Ms Mariama Sonko presented a progress report to BADEA through a power point presentation which included matters such as disbursements, trainings, recruitment of permanent staff, achievements and future goals, etc. From BADEA, this meeting was attended by Ms. Lubna Dafalla and an accountant, Zinab Dahab, and from GSNEF by Mariama Daffeh, Muhammad Krubally and Mariama Sonko. The two sides discussed and agreed on the following points:
1) Recruitment of a full-time project manager and recovery officer
2) Getting a permanent office
3) Appointing a sewing machine supplier
4) Inauguration of the project
5) Graduation of the tailoring trainees
6) Follow-up meetings.
 
In early March 2023, the Chairman of the Steering Committee prepared the announcements for ordering the sewing machines through a local supplier and for appointing an external auditor to audit our books. These actions were personally undertaken by him due to his commitment, and constant recognition of the urgency, to always make the project move forward and operate it at the highest standards. As a result also of the commitment and efforts of our Gambian Team, under the Deputy Chairman of the Committee, the team was able to publish the announcements on the 21st of March 2023.

2024 Update

1. 74% of the total number of our beneficiaries are women, most of whom (like the rest of the GFD membership (Persons with Disabilities or PWDs)) use to depend on begging for their livelihoods.

2. Among the many important official events and decisions that the GSNEF presence was felt at/in is the establishment of the National Advisory Council for Persons with Disabilities, comprising 17 members, of whom 14 are from different ministries and three from the Gambia Federation of the Disabled (GFD). This Council is established pursuant to Section 8 of Persons with Disabilities Act 2021 some of the functions of which are to advise, monitor and recommend pertaining to the rights of PWDs.

3. Outside the Gambia, the Deputy Chairman carried the GSNEF logo to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, in Ethiopia, Access of Persons with Disabilities to Education, in Niger, Access to Education, livelihood and inclusion, in Kenya, Access to Health in Senegal, Access to Employment in Benin, Access to adequate standard of living and social protection in Ivory Coast, and Accessibility in all forms by persons with disabilities, in Ghana.

4. In September 2023 the GSNEF team produced an expressive video which provided a complete picture of what the GSNEF is about. It presented the objectives, a cross-section and representative portrait of stakeholders and the opinions of the beneficiaries in 4 minutes and 21 seconds. The video was very positively received by our stakeholders and social media.

5. The biggest publicity that the GSNEF might have received during the period under consideration was the inclusion of the GSNEF project as a case study in the book, Demystifying ESG, published by one of the top-rated international scholarly publishers, Palgrave Macmillan (New York and London), in August 2023. This historic book, the first one ever written on formal comprehensive or holistic ESG, was written by the Chairman and Sustainability Adviser of the GSNEF. The book is now available all over the world, even in the most prestigious universities, libraries and other institutions.

6. We have championed the rights of PWDs in urban Gambia, and travelled right across the country covering the villages, talking about PWDs.

7. Our Sustainability Adviser designed an international-standard ESG reporting framework for the Fund, that can be flagged anywhere.

8. The Chairman of the Gambia Federation of the Disabled is, at the same time,
National Advisory Council for Persons with Disabilities and the Vice Chairman of GSNEF. He has been busy on the Popularisation of the Persons with Disabilities Act 2021. This Act is the specific Disability Law passed by the National Assembly Members of the Gambia to guarantee and ensure respect, promotion and protection of the fundamental rights of all Persons with Disabilities in The Gambia. He does this with the UNDP, Women’s Bureau, National Council for Civic Education, Ministry of Finance and many Civil Society Organisations which share the same objectives as PWD organisations.

Are you interested in supporting GSNEF? For any inquiries or interest to support us, please email us at:

info@julaconsultancy.com