A Gambian government delegation has returned from an 11-day strategic study tour of South Africa with a clear roadmap to reform The Gambia’s education, research and innovation sectors.

The mission, organised under the World Bank-funded Resilience, Inclusion, Skills and Equity (RISE) Project, was led by the Minister of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, Pierre Gomez.

The nine-member delegation held engagements with senior officials and experts from South Africa’s Department of Higher Education and Training, the National Research Foundation, the Technology Innovation Agency, UMALUSI, as well as TVET colleges and Sector Education and Training Authorities.

The programme focused on extracting practical lessons on governance, financing, institutional design and research commercialisation to inform policy reforms in The Gambia.

Key outcomes include plans to establish Centres of Excellence, develop a national research and innovation framework, strengthen TVET governance, and advance gender-inclusive human capital strategies.

Delegates also gained insights into sustainable financing models and ways to better link research outputs to economic value.

Prof. Gomez described the tour as “a pan-African collaboration aimed at building a future-ready skills ecosystem tailored to The Gambia’s context,” adding that it produced concrete, actionable steps for institutional and policy reform.

The tour was supported by the Gambian High Commission in South Africa, led by Fatoumatta Jahumpa Ceesay, whose team facilitated high-level engagements and additional regional partnerships, including with the Mauritian Embassy.

In the coming weeks, the ministry plans to establish an Annual Performance Plan with the National Research and Innovation Fund, formalise partnerships with South African institutions, and roll out legislative and policy measures to sustain TVET and research reforms.

Officials said the study tour underscores The Gambia’s commitment to building a modern, competitive education and innovation ecosystem and positioning the country as a regional hub for skills development and research excellence.

By Adama Makasuba