YEP plans to roll out more grants for young people

The Youth Empowerment Project (YEP) has plans to roll out more grants for young people, said Mayara Louzada, a consultant for the project. She said this at a training on financial literacy for 35 shortlisted applicants of the YEP mini-grant scheme, organised by the National Association of Cooperative Credit Unions of the Gambia (NACCUG).

“Under the access to finance strategy, we have the mini-grant scheme which was launched recently,” Louzada said. The YEP mini-grant scheme’s application process and funds disbursement are managed by the NACCUG.

“Apart from the 35 applicants, we have also trained about 62 people on the first phase of the mini-grant scheme on tax filing and networking. The second phase of the mini-grant scheme will be rolled out in the foreseeable future for about 100 people, including both financial and technical assistance,” she said.

Held at its head office in Bakau, the financial literacy training was aimed at training participants on savings, management and basic recordkeeping for SMEs.

NACCUG Financial and Admin manager, Patrick Mendy, welcomed the participants to the training and said he hoped they would make full use of the opportunity. However, he said, the success of the grant entirely depends on those who receive it, and its future continuity depends on the results registered by the participants. He added that potential impact on society has made the grant a household name in The Gambia.

In addition to giving out grants, the YEP also has a micro-loan scheme. This was launched in on 14 November 2018 in partnership with the Social Development Fund (SDF), to support youth-led small and medium-sized enterprises in The Gambia.

“We loan about USD 3,000 on average to every young applicant,” Louzada said. The first phase of the YEP mini-loan scheme is expected to end in March 2019 but there are plans to extend it further.

TMP – 20/12/2018

Photo caption: The Youth Empowerment Project is a key partner in the drive to improve youth employment in The Gambia