Gambia Holiday News

Golf Holidays in Africa: Golfing in Ganbia

2009-01-09T16:11:00.000-08:00

Golfing in The Gambia The Fajara Golf & Country Club is beautifully situaded, right at the sea in a rich palm and very special landscape. Once it was said in a famous American golfmagazine: Its confusing: the course is awful and beautifull together, the greens are brown and the grass is almost bush. But our advise: Do it!, every golfer must have been once in Fajara'

And that's how it is. 18-Holes par 69 . Don't expect a super course; it cannot be more African: brown and bush, colourfull and adventurous! There will be caddies, no golfcars, golf clubs and balls can be rented; pro's are present for eventual lessons. Drinks can be ordered everywhere. There's no real dress code but never forget to bring your cap; it can get very hot.

At the nineteenth you'll find facilities for swimming, squash and biljart. So, a special golftrip, a special experience. A trip to the Fajara Golf Club in the Gambia will give you stories to dine out on at any golf club event.

The course itself is 'testing' but the caddys and club pros are excellent value.

Gambia Tour Operator Arch Tours Launches Ethical Tourism Inititive

2009-01-03T17:59:00.000-08:00

Since 2001 Arch Tours has aimed to bring the casual tourist or holiday maker in to direct contact with the local people to experience the friendliness and hospitality, history and culture of Gambia.

Arch Tours involve the local Gambian communities in the ecotourism decision-making process and have a high success rate in creating and sustaining profitable ecotourism projects in the Gambia that benefit the tourist, the local villages and the environment.

Sizzla in Gambia: Sizzla Kolonji visits Africa

2008-12-15T14:59:00.000-08:00

Dancehall superstar Sizzla Kalonji has arrived in Gambia, West Africa for two shows on December 27 and 29.

Betts Promotion along with Rebel T music and Kalonji Records will stage African Explosion - Rise to the Occasion, a show that will feature Sizzla performing live along with Jesse Jendah and Princess Menen.

Rebel T sound from Jamaica will also be on-hand to provide the musical juggling.

Property Investment in Gambia

2008-09-06T00:58:00.000-07:00

The Gambia: Open for Business

A thriving economy founded on a successful private sector is linchpin to The Gambia's governance orientation. It appreciates that a government's only measure of credibility lies in its ability to translate the numeric of economic statistics into food on the peoples' tables, roofs on their heads and security in their minds, all these while guaranteeing a critical level of development commensurate with whatever is internationally apace.

GOOD GOVERNANCE, BIG BUSINESS

With a population of 1.3 million and ticking, The Gambia operates a multiparty, parliamentary democracy committed to the rule of law and a liberal, free market economy. Gaining independence from 200 years of British colonial rule in 1965, it moved to become a republic 5 years later and has since remained a beacon of political stability (though not without its rough rides). The incumbent administration of President Yahya Jammeh was democratically elected in 1996 and he has defined his governance policy in the words of transparency and accountability. Jammeh had, two years earlier, come to power through a military putsch that toppled a government widely regarded as corrupt, redundant and lacking direction.

Inheriting an economy with a natural resource base of about nil, the foundations of which was built around taxes and tariffs, Jammeh's government quickly realised that the only way to achieve meaningful development and augment the country's tiny resource base would be through enhanced private sector development. It would also demand substantial foreign capital injection and the accompanying technological expertise as well as a well-developed human resource base and access into the international market.

The realisation has not faded. Since 1996, The Gambia has vigorously pursued a socio-economic policy committed to free enterprise and private sector development. The nerve of which is the inauguration of "The Gambia incorporated… Vision 2020" initiative, a policy document representing the blueprint designed to guide the country's progress into its envisioned future.
Encapsulated in it is the will and aspiration of the people and government of The Gambia to transform the country into a "financial centre, a tourist paradise, a trading, export-oriented agricultural and manufacturing nation, thriving on free market policies and a vibrant private sector. Sustained by a well-educated, trained, skill, healthy, self reliant and enterprising population."

Wall of Investment Funds Hits Africa

2008-09-06T00:46:00.000-07:00

Arnold Ekpe, chief executive of the Ecobank Group, said that the wall of money coming into Africa reflected both genuine reforms and a global hunt for higher yields."Frankly, some of the numbers we're looking at, I haven't seen that in 30 years of banking in Africa," Ekpe said.
Alex Garrard, a UBS managing director responsible for the bank's proprietary and customer trading in exotic fixed-income securities, said he had witnessed a sea change in the last 6 to 9 months in the willingness to invest for the long term in Africa.

Stuart Culverhouse, chief economist at Exotix, said foreign direct investment accounted for virtually all the billion in private capital flows into sub-Saharan Africa, excluding South Africa, in 2005.

Investments in Africa afford low entry levels allowing average investors to take advantage of great returns in a relatively short period of time. Africa, as a whole, is the last undervalued marketplace. These markets, with the exception of South Africa, now sell at bargain basement prices.

Private equity investments in Africa

2008-09-06T00:41:00.000-07:00

Private equity is attracting international investors to Africa like never before, with fund after fund being launched in London to look beyond South Africa.

"We don't have to invest in Africa, and we wouldn't have invested in certain African local-currency markets without an improvement in policies over the past few years," said William Ledward, who manages a billion emerging-market fixed-income fund for Franklin Templeton Investments.

Nkosana Moyo, who is partner for Africa at Actis, a British private equity firm that invests in emerging markets, said he plans to raise a new 0 million fund for Africa in the next year.
Moyo said Actis, as an investor with a 10-year horizon, was excited by Africa's opportunities because the continent's new generation of leaders was more at ease with open global markets; the continent, moreover, was home to 20 percent of the world's proven reserves of oil and gas.

African Property Investment Funds

2007-11-06T00:50:00.000-08:00

Knight Frank has just launched its East Africa property fund having recently reported an increase in real estate value and growth in the region.

In August a £650 Million Pan African fund was launched by Pamodzi Investment Holdings

Since January 2007 there has been more than £1 Billion raised in London by private equity funds for Africa

Since June 2007 3 African funds have raised £200 Million & listed on boyh AIM & LSE

Two years ago there was just 2 African funds on the London markets, today there are more than a dozen

7 out the the worlds 20 fastest growing world economies are in Africa

6 out of the top 10 performing economies in Africa are in West Africa
Africa's overall GDP growth has exceeded global growth

Top Six Fasting Growing Economies in West Africa

Libera 13.3%
Equatorial Guinea 7.1%
Gambia 7.0%
Burkino Faso 6.5%
Serria Leone 6.5%
Cape Verde 6.5%

* Sourse IMF

Africa: The best investment destination of the 21st Century

2007-09-06T00:33:00.000-07:00

The wall of money coming into Africa reflectes both genuine reforms and a global hunt for higher yields as investors weigh up the relative risk of investing in Africa or intangible, complex financial securities and derivatives.

Bankers gathered in Shanghai in May of this year for the annual meeting of the African Development Bank. Confidence was high given that the past four years of above trend economic growth has triggered a strong interest from Lodon based equity and fund managers. Convinced that the continents dominant economies are turning a corner funds listed on AIM, mutual funds, private equity and hedge funds are pouring in to Africa.

To put things into perspective, the U.K. & America are falling behind the competition when it comes to investing in the continent. China, India, Russia and much of the Islamic world are already there. In July 2006, for example, Beijing used $US5 billion from its reserves to form the Africa Development Fund to develop the continent's oil and mineral resources.

Looking at the current turmoil in the markets, one wonders if China isn't on to something when it comes to weighing up the relative risk of politically unstable Africa versus intangible, complex financial securities and derivatives.

Chinese, Indian & Russian demand for natural resources has helped fuel a boom in commodities which Africa has in large supply & the promise of a massive programme of investment in infrastructure. Africa's fringe position in the global economy is contributing to it's appeal. The correlation between African equity markets & other regions is low, offering opportunities to reduce portfolio risks at a time of global volatility profits generated by commodities are causing sustainable growth in Africa.