Empowering Persons with Disabilities Through Skills and Entrepreneurship: A Blueprint for Economic Inclusion in The Gambia
Foroyaa’s decision to revive this column is not merely a symbolic gesture—it is a timely and necessary reminder that inclusion cannot be seasonal or performative. It must be structural. In The Gambia, despite the landmark passage of the Persons with Disabilities Act in 2021 and its eventual gazetting in 2023, a troubling gap persists between legislative intent and lived reality. This gap is not abstract; it manifests in classrooms where accessibility remains uneven, in training centres that are physically or financially out of reach, in workplaces that too often default to exclusion, and in markets that fail to recognize the talents and ambitions of persons with disabilities. Policy has moved forward, but practice is still catching up.
It is against this backdrop that a recent nationwide initiative offers something far more tangible than rhetoric. From 16 to 18 March 2026, the National Advisory Council for Persons with Disabilities, in collaboration with the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Welfare and its partners, convened a three-day regional training programme focused on vocational education, skills development, technology, and entrepreneurship. Held across the Kanifing Municipal Council, the Lower River Region, and the West Coast Region, the programme brought together participants from organizations of persons with disabilities across the country. The theme—“Empowering Persons with Disabilities for Economic Independence and Inclusion”—could easily have dissolved into familiar language. What distinguished this effort, however, was its insistence on practical outcomes. This was not about abstract rights alone; it was about tools, access, and the mechanics of participation.
From Policy to Practice: The Structural Imperative
At the opening sessions, the Chairman of the Council, His Worship Principal Magistrate Muhammed Krubally, framed the issue in direct terms: empowering persons with disabilities is not simply a policy obligation—it is a national responsibility. This point bears repeating. Inclusion cannot sit solely within government documents; it must be reflected in everyday economic life, in who gets to produce, to sell, to innovate, and to earn. Other speakers reinforced this shift toward pragmatism. Social welfare officials stressed the need for interventions that translate immediately into usable skills, while senior policymakers pointed to entrepreneurship as a route not only to independence but also to visibility—a way of reshaping how disability is perceived in society.
Here, the training found its centre of gravity. Sessions ranged from business management and financial literacy to digital marketing and the use of technology as an equalizer. Participants were not simply told they could succeed; they were shown how to begin. There is a profound difference between inspiration and instruction, and this programme leaned decisively toward the latter.
Voices from the Field: Practical Wisdom and Real-World Application
Contributors from the private and civil society sectors added texture and substance to the programme. A local entrepreneur spoke of discipline and consistency not as slogans but as habits that sustain a business. A technology specialist, Alieu Jaiteh—who is also visually impaired and serves as the executive director of Start Now in Brikama—highlighted the quiet revolution of digital platforms. He demonstrated how a mobile phone, properly used, can dissolve geographic and social barriers, enabling persons with disabilities to access markets, training, and networks that were previously out of reach. Another facilitator broke entrepreneurship down to its essentials: identifying opportunity, building incrementally, and understanding the market.
Yet the most compelling arguments came not from the podium but from the participants themselves. One attendee described arriving with ideas but no clear path forward, and leaving with a sense of direction—and, crucially, confidence. Another spoke of discovering that digital marketing was not an abstract concept but something she could apply immediately, using tools already in her hands. A third welcomed the training but offered a sober reminder: without access to capital and markets, skills alone will struggle to translate into sustainable livelihoods.
The Missing Links: Capital, Markets, and Continuity
There is also the question of continuity. Short-term interventions, however well designed, cannot substitute for long-term systems. Follow-up support, mentoring, cooperative business models, and inclusive digital infrastructure are not optional extras; they are the conditions under which progress becomes durable. Participants were clear about what is still missing: financing mechanisms that are accessible, assistive devices that are affordable, and market systems that are open rather than exclusionary. For example, a person with a visual impairment who completes a digital marketing course still needs a smartphone with accessible software, a reliable internet connection, and a microloan to purchase initial inventory. Without these structural supports, ambition risks stalling.
Still, it would be a mistake to dismiss what this initiative represents. In a policy environment that can sometimes feel distant from everyday realities, this programme grounded inclusion in action. It recognized that economic participation is not a byproduct of rights; it is one of their clearest expressions. Training can ignite ambition, but without structural support, that ambition remains fragile. If The Gambia is serious about inclusive development, then this is the direction of travel: equipping people not just to be included but also to contribute, compete, and lead.
Beyond Charity: A Call for Access, Not Accommodation
Persons with disabilities are not waiting to be accommodated; they are ready to build, to innovate, and to work. What they require is not charity but access—access to capital, to markets, to technology, and to the same opportunities that others take for granted. For many who took part, this training was not simply a workshop. It was, as several described it, a turning point—a shift from uncertainty to possibility. That shift matters. Because inclusion, at its most meaningful, is not about being counted. It is about being able to count—in the economy, in society, and in the story a nation tells about itself.
This column returns, then, not just to report but also to insist: the promise of inclusion has been made. The work now is to deliver it.