The African Development Bank Group and the World Bank recently prepared a Joint Strategy for the country for the period 2008-2011.The strategy will support efforts at strengthening the economic management and public service delivery framework, therefore enhancing growth as well as the competitiveness and productive capacity of the country's poor.The AfDB assistance under the strategy will be provided under the ADF-11. The strategy will extend to 2011 which is the first ADF-12 year. 

Development Policy

The Joint Assistance Strategy will be used as a Country Strategy Paper and will provide a framework for the cooperation between the AfDB and the Government of Real GDP growth recovered substantially from a negative 3.2 per cent in 2002 to an average of 6 per cent in 2003-2006 and a projected 7 per cent for 2007. The strong performance was driven mainly by growth in tourism, construction and telecommunications and some growth in agriculture. Agriculture employs over 70% of the Gambia’s labor force, generates nearly 33% of GDP, 85%of export earnings, and two-thirds of household incomes. Poverty is still widespread and affects some 58% of the population. There are also structural and sectoral challenges, especially in the infrastructure sector.

Bank Group Strategy

The Bank Group started operations in the Gambia in 1974 and had by 2008 approved 54 operations with total commitments, net of cancellations, of UA 205.8 million. The commitments include investments in transport (25 percent), social sectors (25 percent), agriculture (21 per cent), public utilities (12 per cent), multi-sector (9 percent), the environment (6 per cent), and industry (2 per cent).

The African Development Bank’s Private Sector Window has not yet financed any project in the Gambia. However, financing of an energy program for the Gambia River Basin Development Organization (OMVG), in the form of a public-private partnership that includes the Gambian government is planned. The Bank Group is also preparing a multinational West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) Payment System Development Project to include the Gambia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. The project will improve and standardize payment systems in the three countries. This is a  step that will facilitate the launch of the WAMZ monetary union planned for December 2009. This date may, however, not be met as most WAMZ countries are yet to satisfy the necessary criteria.