The Chairperson The Hon. Minister of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment The Resident Coordinator, UNDP The Ambassador, EU Delegation in The Gambia The Representative of UNFPA The Duty Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration & Employment The Project Manager, YEP The Project Coordinator, YEP The Deputy Chairperson, the SDF Board of Directors The Heads of Various institutions here present Our Development partners Members of the media fraternity Distinguished Guests                           Permit me to start by giving a brief background to the SDF’s involvement in today’s events.  In January 2018, the International Trade Centre (ITC), which is an agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organisation, through international competitive bidding, put out a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a financial service provider to implement the Mini-Loans Scheme.  The Social Development Fund (SDF) in line with its mandate of providing financial services to support microenterprise operations in all sectors of the economy, coupled with its long-standing experience and track record in microfinance operations in the Gambia, responded to the ITC’s request for proposals.  Following the UN procurement guidelines, the SDF was informed in June 2018 that its proposal in response to the ITC’s request for a financial service provider was considered to be the most appropriate and was therefore retained for the implementation of the   mini-loans scheme we are about to launch this morning.  Ladies and Gentlemen  In the Gambia, and indeed in many other developing countries young entrepreneurs, and youths in general are confronted with a number of barriers in gaining access to conventional sources of finance to enable them either start-up or fund an existing investment. Because they are considered to have little experience and few assets, financial institutions tend to see them as too risky It is in response to these challenges, that the Youth Empowerment Project (YEP) in partnership with the Social Development Fund (SDF) is implementing the mini-loans.  The objective of the mini-loans scheme is to facilitate access to finance for young entrepreneurs and MSMEs with limited or no access to traditional credit sources. The mini-loans scheme will therefore primarily target youth-led existing businesses with growth potentials. Additionally, the mini-loans scheme will also complement other YEP initiatives in support of entrepreneurship promotion and job creation, such as training and coaching, market linkages, and the mini-grant scheme.  In accordance with the partnership agreement with YEP, the mini-loans scheme will be for a duration of 30 months, with the implementation period divided into two phases. The first phase, the pilot phase, will be for a period of 5 months after which an evaluation would be conducted to determine continuation into the final phase.  Ladies and Gentlemen  The target beneficiaries for the mini-loans are young entrepreneurs, solely or in a group, or MSMEs, meeting the following eligibility requirements: Be no more than 35 years old (one member can be more than 35 if justified).  Completed a course/programme on entrepreneurship or business management in one of the entrepreneurship programmes supported by the YEP (e.i, NEDI, EMPRETEC, Start-up Incubator Gambia, partner TVET institutions, NGOs, or other similar programme to be agreed subsequently). Must have a registered business Provide a viable business plan, including budget, description of management, and an estimation of employment capacity.  Must have the ability to repay the loan  Have adequate collateral or guarantee to match the outstanding part The mini-loans scheme is available to all eligible youths in all the six administrative Regions of the country. Soft copies of application forms are available from both the SDF and YEP portals, whilst hard copies of application forms can be collected from SDF Regional Offices in all the Regions. Under the partnership agreement with the YEP for the implementation of the mini-loans scheme, the SDF will be responsible for the following: 1.     The day-to-day operation and management of the mini-loans scheme in accordance with the partnership agreement. 2. The disbursement of loans from its core funds to eligible beneficiaries at a concessionary interest rate with reduced collateral requirements. 3. Receiving enquiries and loan applications, conducting credit analysis, and appropriate due diligence on each application. 4. Following-up and collecting evidences/verification documents on funding by the young entrepreneurs  5. Monitoring the disbursed loans  6.Repayment collection  7.Periodic reporting to the YEP on the implementation of the mini-loans scheme  Madam Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen, we at the SDF consider the launching of the mini-loans scheme by YEP to be an important step in the promotion of youth financial inclusion. We strongly belief that youth financial inclusion matters because:  1.It can transform this significant demographic asset into and economic opportunity. 2. It has potentials of transforming youths from being job seekers into job creators 3. It can significantly empowers youths.  Finally, Ladies and Gentlemen My colleague, the Director of Operations, will present the specific details on the operations of the mini-loans scheme in greater detail. I thank you for your attention.