Veteran lawyer, Ousainou A.N.M. Darboe has called on the nation to support the adoption of the Protocol on Women in Trade to promote the participation of women in the African Continental Free Trade Area.

"On the African continent, our nation must support the adoption of the Protocol on Women in Trade to promote the participation of women in the African Continental Free Trade Area," Mr. Darboe said.

"This is a huge opportunity to enable women-owned businesses to benefit from the rapid growth in trade between African countries over the next few years."

"The Gambia needs to be ready to make use of the opportunities that arise on the continent," he said, adding that as a country, we must shift economic power into the hands of women.

He noted that the Gambia government must provide training for women entrepreneurs so that they can tender for government contracts and successfully provide the goods and services that government needs.

He added that this should only be the start of a process of radical gender mainstreaming. "Our ambition as a people must be to open up opportunities for women businesses in the broader economy," he posited.

"The gap between the economic position of men and women is still huge," he stated.

He highlighted that our shared commitment should be to work harder to narrow the abovegap, and to within a generation, get rid of it.