Gambia: GAWFA’s Mobile Banking Project Approved

This development, he said, has now given GAWFA the green light to be closely working with a private Spanish company called Tower Plane Advance Project (TAP). Gadea was speaking inan interview with the Daily ObserverTuesday at the GAWFA head office along Jimpex Road in Kanifing.

He stated that the Agency has supported so many projects in the country, in particular, fufilling its mandate of fighting poverty. “The system is aimed at improving the management of micro-finance with a purpose to reach rural Gambian women to support them with loans and micro-finance credit,” he said, and informed further disclosed that the project will last for a period of 18 months to also improve the institutional capacity of the rural women GAWFA is targeting.

Gadea went on to explained that TAP mission team are in The Gambia for a five-day working visit to assist GAWFA adopt technological tools for creating the softwares and telecommunication networks of the new GAWFA Mobile Banking project. According to him, this is their first visit to the country and that before the end of the project the team will make other visits to assess the progress of the project.

For his part, Antoni Lopez Burruezo, the technical manager of the project, affirmed that the purpose of the team’s visit is to identify the needs of GAWFA in terms of management; such as the registration of the beneficiaries, loans approvals and loan disbursement. He noted that the second part of their mission is to assess the options in the country in terms of telecommunication network coverage and internet service provider.

Juan Carlos Sanchez, the project manager of the Mobile Banking project, said they will study the operating system and the hosting of the hardware. “I will be responsible for the general coordination of the project,” he announced.

Oley Njie-Mbye, the chief executive officer of GAWFA described the Mobile Banking and the Banking on Wheels project as timely; noting that it will help them in terms of enhancing efficiency and productivity, as well as to reduce fraud. Mbye said the project will strengthen the capacity of her staff and the rural women, and expressed appreciation to the Spanish Cooperation Agency for funding the project.

She finally thanked the Spanish government, Rural Finance Project, SDF and the Central Bank of The Gambia for their support. Ebrima Gano, the operations manager of GAFWA also expressed similar sentiments.

MOMODOU FAAL
 The Daily Observer