The Gambia : An Assessment of the Investment Climate

The situation in The Gambia is a good
example of the many challenges small states have to deal
with. The country is faced with institutional capacity
constraints and due to a narrow resource base and a small
domestic market, its production base and exports show little
diversification. Like other small states, the country tends
to rely heavily on external trade and foreign investment to
overcome its scale and resource limitation, increasing its
vulnerability to external shocks. The objective of this
report is to analyze the investment climate of The Gambia in
its every dimension. It is the first time such a
comprehensive report is prepared by the World Bank about the
investment climate in The Gambia. Recent World Bank reports
only look at specific areas of the investment climate and do
not provide a global assessment of investment climate issues
based on firm level data as does this report. A final and
brief chapter provides a synthesis of the report and some
strategic directions aimed at improving the business
environment in the country.