The First International Bank (FIB) Limited, on Friday 29th August, concluded a five-day training workshop on Entrepreneur Skills Development for 33 residents of Kanilai.  This program took place barely a month after the bank opened its Kanilai branch.

The workshop, which attracted twenty-nine women and four men from various groups within Kanilai, was aimed at empowering mainly women by enhancing their capacities in various disciplines such as business identification, basic business management, entity concepts, marketing, public relations, records keeping, financial management and banking.

According to Mr Baboucarr Sawaneh, marketing manager of FIB, the workshop was very timely as the trade season is drawing closer.  

"There is a need to develop the skills of people to better manage their meagre resources," he said.  "Giving the participants the factual areas of business management is a prerequisite to enable them as emerging entrepreneurs to develop and maintain their own operations," he continued.  

Mr Sawaneh said that entrepreneurs are a scarce and valuable assets in providing a vital link in the evolution and revolution of business forms and ideas in societies.  Thus, the need to show the participants, who are potential entrepreneurs, how to use current ideas and practices in the management of their activities became eminent.The workshop was also aimed at developing the analytical skills of the participants while preserving their entrepreneurial skills.

Mr Sawaneh further stressed that the workshop, organized by the first bank in the Fonis - FIB, emphasizes the banks commitment to working with rural Gambians and promoting national development evenly.

Ms Naba Gassama, program coordinator of the Micro Enterprise Development Initiative, Gambian Business Development Network and Junior Achievements was the trainer/consultant.

The closing ceremony was chaired by the Alkalo of Kanilai, Alhaji Ebou Jammeh. Certificates were awarded to participants by Mr Cyril Ijoma (IT manager) who stood in for the FIB's Ag MD/CEO Mr Daouda Sow.