By Fatou Sillah
President Adama Barrow has approved D32.931 million in grants to support 738 adolescent girls and young women who completed entrepreneurship and business management training under the SWEDD+ Programme.
The announcement came Wednesday at the programme’s certification ceremony, where President Barrow said the funding is designed to help recipients launch businesses, generate employment, and advance economic inclusion across the country.
Among the 738 beneficiaries, 52 are graduates from Banjul, 202 from the Kanifing Municipality, and 484 from the West Coast Region. Allocations reflect this distribution, with D20.591 million directed to the West Coast Region, D9.99 million to Kanifing Municipality, and D2.35 million to Banjul.
“I am delighted to announce the approval of a thirty-two million, nine hundred and thirty-one thousand Dalasis (GMD 32.931 million) grant to support the seven hundred and thirty-eight (738) beneficiaries gathered here,” President Barrow said.
In a broader commitment to women’s economic empowerment, the President also revealed that the government has pledged D117 million to provide start-up grants for 2,064 out-of-school and vulnerable adolescent girls and young women nationwide.
President Barrow framed the grants as more than financial transfers, describing them as instruments of lasting social and economic change. “These grants are catalysts for enterprise creation, job generation, and economic inclusion—investments in the future of the recipients and the future of the nation,” he said.
The president stressed that women’s empowerment is both a moral imperative and a strategic priority for national development, noting that no country can fully realize its potential without the active participation of women. Economically empowered women, he argued, strengthen families, communities, and national prosperity alike.
He called on beneficiaries to deploy the funds responsibly, conduct their businesses with discipline and integrity, and continue to support one another as they grow.
President Barrow noted that Wednesday’s ceremony was focused on beneficiaries from the Greater Banjul Area but emphasized that the SWEDD+ Programme operates at a national scale. Additional certification ceremonies are planned across the country to extend recognition and support to a wider group of participants.
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