This development was revealed to journalists during a press briefing organised by Oceanic Bank at the Coco Ocean Hotel in Bijilo last Thursday. The move by the fourth biggest sugar refinery company in the world and the first in Africa with a gross net of $1.5 billion per annum will reduce the burden faced by Gambian importers . The company currently has partners in Senegal, Ethiopia, South Africa, and Zambia.

Speaking at the ceremony, Thomas Kojo Quayson, head of Corporate Communications at Oceanic Bank Gambia, said the company is fully ready to share their products with Gambian entrepreneurs. He dilated on the need for such developments in the continent, adding that with such a partnership, there will be reduction in the scarcity of certain commodities, citing the recent scarcity of sugar in the consumer market.

For his part, Suwaibou Idris, the deputy managing director of Dangote Group, said his company is a household name in Nigeria with a staff population of 17,000 and well recommended for their high quality products. He disclosed that the company produces 4, 000 metric tons of sugar equivalent to 120 trucks per day and 15 million tons of cement, adding that their dream is to make Nigeria a cement exporter. He informed journalists that the company is also involved in subsidiary businesses such as transportation among others.

Idris called on Gambian entrepreneurs to partner with them as it will ease the difficulties they face when importing outside Africa. He then expressed hope that Gambians will take advantage of this  ‘rare’ opportunity while assuring that their products are of quality and guaranty compared to others. He added that the Ecowas protocol on the free movement of goods and people will even make the partnership easy. Present at the briefing were: Emeka Anyaegbuna, managing director of Zenith Bank; and Mashood Ilupeju, export manager of Dangote Group.