By: Kebba Ansu Manneh
In an exclusive interview with TAT, Gambian-born American entrepreneur Lady Nyaimeh Bah highlighted the persistent challenges hindering women’s entrepreneurship in The Gambia, emphasizing limited access to financial resources and business education as the most significant obstacles.
Lady Bah, Founder and CEO of Jambarr Solutions LLC—a U.S.-based company offering professional cleaning services, media production, and events management—and founder of LSTV1 Network Gambia, spoke candidly about the realities many women face. “Many talented women have great ideas but lack funding, mentorship, or training to turn those ideas into sustainable businesses,” she said.
She pointed out that societal expectations often confine women to traditional roles, undermining their confidence and opportunities to innovate and lead.
“In many communities, women are still expected to focus mainly on traditional roles, which can limit their confidence or opportunities,” Bah noted. She stressed the importance of robust networks where women can collaborate, mentor each other, and share resources, asserting that “when women support women, empowerment grows faster.”
Despite these hurdles, Bah praised Gambian women’s remarkable resilience, hard work, and entrepreneurial spirit. She argued that with targeted policies, education, and support systems, women could contribute even more substantially to the nation’s economic growth potentially outpacing their male counterparts.
Drawing on her experience running businesses in the United States, Bah observed that access to resources, mentorship, and networks can dramatically transform women-led ventures. She urged the Gambian government to forge stronger ties with diaspora entrepreneurs like herself, who possess valuable knowledge, connections, and resources to benefit women back home.
“Creating programs that connect diaspora entrepreneurs with local women business owners would encourage mentorship, investment, and collaboration,” she recommended.
Additional steps, she suggested, include simplifying access to funding, grants, and women-specific business development programs; implementing supportive policies for women-owned enterprises; and promoting Gambian women internationally through trade initiatives, global partnerships, and training.
Bah shared personal insights into the double burden many women carry. “As a woman entrepreneur, I have learned to build something from the ground up while fighting stereotypes,” she said.
“Women sometimes have to work twice as hard to prove credibility in business spaces that are still male-dominated.” She also highlighted the challenge of balancing multiple roles as mothers, caregivers, and business leaders—a reality that, while demanding, fosters creativity, strategy, and determination.
Her journey has reinforced her belief that women entrepreneurs are not just building companies but creating opportunities and inspiring future generations.
“My journey has taught me that women entrepreneurs are not only building businesses but also creating opportunities for others and inspiring the next generation of young girls to believe in their potential, no matter the challenges,” she reflected.
Bah’s successes include establishing Jambarr Solutions LLC, which employs a significant number of Gambians and Senegalese in the U.S., delivering excellent, reliable services to local communities. Through LSTV1 Network Gambia and Jambarr Solutions, she actively mentors aspiring young women in both The Gambia and the U.S. via virtual sessions and one-on-one guidance. This aligns with her conviction that “when women succeed, families succeed, and ultimately the entire nation succeeds.”
Amid International Women’s Day celebrations, Lady Bah called on Gambian women entrepreneurs to remain resilient, courageous, and ambitious. She reiterated that government backing—for both established and emerging women entrepreneurs—is essential to advancing national development goals.
