The Lid is On

In the last of our mini-series recorded in The Gambia, we look at the challenges and opportunities for entrepreneurs, and how the UN is helping new companies to grow, bringing much-needed jobs to rural areas.

Conor Lennon meets Musa Darbo, who quit his well-paying job in the US to return home and start a rice business, in order to employ struggling smallholder farmers, and end The Gambia’s dependence on imported rice.

Music: Within the Earth, Ketsa

When it comes to climate action, The Gambia can proudly lay claim to being the first country to meet its commitments under the 2015 Paris Climate Agreements.

But, like all developing countries, its people are suffering disproportionately from the effects of the climate crisis, particularly more unpredictable rainfall, and flooding.

Many women and girls in The Gambia are affected by “period poverty”, meaning that they are unable to afford menstrual products, which puts them at risk of infection, and discourages them from attending school.

The Gambia, the smallest country on the African mainland, and one of the least developed countries in the world, has been going through a transition to full democracy since 2017, the end of a two-decade long dictatorship.