LocationsBy Martin Namasaka
Binta Barry: Development in The Gambia Is About People, Not Numbers
July 17, 2026
Binta Barry is hard to miss. Tall, poised and quietly commanding, she welcomes me into her office in Cape Point, Bakau, in The Gambia, where the Atlantic Ocean’s breeze drifts through the windows. On her desk sit five publications: The Gambia Voluntary National Review, African Economic Outlook, Africa’s Sustainable Development Report, The Gambia Localised Multidimensional Poverty Report, and the Integrated National Financing Framework Dialogue papers. To many, they are reports and statistics. To Binta, they are stories of young people seeking jobs, women pursuing opportunities, and families hoping for a better future.
As UNDP The Gambia’s Economist, Binta works at the centre of some of the country’s most important development conversations. Through UNDP’s South-South Cooperation opportunities, she has brought global lessons home while remaining deeply connected to the realities of Gambian communities. For her, every number represents a person, every financing gap reflects a missed opportunity, and every policy recommendation carries the possibility of changing a life.
Yet beyond the economist is a woman who believes deeply in the power of education and human potential. Her work reflects the same grounded focus she brings to local development, patient, deliberate, and firmly rooted in the realities of everyday life, helping The Gambia move from simply imagining its future to intentionally building the one it is capable of becoming.
As I take a seat, it becomes clear this is not just a conversation about economics or development but about people and why it matters to take development to where it’s needed the most.
Many people know you as an economist. But who is Binta when she steps away from the reports and policy discussions?
(Laughs) Most people see the economist, but my story started long before the reports and policy conversations. I am the youngest of twenty-two children, and growing up in such a large family taught me resilience, responsibility, and how to find my voice. I also grew up on Kairaba Avenue – dubbed The Gambia’s own version of Wall Street, surrounded by banks and businesses, which sparked my curiosity early about how economies work and how opportunities are created.
That curiosity carried me from The Gambia to Shepherd University in the United States, where I studied double majored in Biochemistry and Economics, and later to the Paris School of Business, where I earned an International MBA in Finance and a Master’s in International Development. Over time, I became even more convinced that economics is not just about systems, it is about people’s lives and their possibilities.
Service has always been important to me. Seven years ago, I co-founded Japaleh Jigueen, a charitable initiative supporting women’s well-being, particularly maternal health. Whether in my professional or personal life, I am guided by the same belief: development is ultimately about improving lives, not counting numbers.
Looking around your office, one sees reports and economic studies everywhere. What stories are these documents telling you about The Gambia today?
One of the greatest privileges of my work is helping translate evidence into policies that can improve lives.
Beyond the findings themselves, the value of these reports lies in the analytics they provide. They help us move beyond assumptions and anecdotes to understand the underlying trends shaping development outcomes. The evidence allows us to identify who is being left behind, where resources can have the greatest impact, and which policy interventions are most likely to deliver results. These insights inform our engagement with government, development partners, the private sector, and communities, ensuring that decisions are grounded in data and aligned with the country's development priorities.
For example, the National Human Development Report, which focuses on youth and women, tells us that while The Gambia has made progress, important challenges remain. The country ranks 174th out of 191 countries on the Human Development Index, reflecting persistent challenges in health, education and income.
Labour underutilization remains high, particularly among women and rural communities. At the same time, nearly 70% of our population is under the age of 24. That represents one of our country's greatest opportunities, yet it could also be a threat.
The report also shows that women remain underrepresented in formal employment, ownership of productive assets, and leadership positions. Investing in women and young people is not only the right thing to do socially; it is essential for economic growth.
The Integrated National Financing Framework asks another important question: how do we finance our development ambitions? It emphasizes strengthening domestic resources, improving public spending, encouraging private investment, and exploring innovative financing approaches.
The Development Finance Assessment shows that implementing our National Development Plan will require approximately US$3.5 billion, leaving a financing gap of around US$2.8 billion.
For me, these numbers are never abstract. Behind every statistic is a young graduate looking for work, a woman trying to build a business, or a family hoping for better opportunities. My role is to help ensure that development is not only planned but also financed, implemented, and experienced by citizens.
When you think about The Gambia, this work seems deeply personal to you. What kind of country do you hope future generations will inherit?
Growing up in a large family, I learned early what it means to find your place in a crowded world. You observe more than you speak, you wait your turn, and you understand very quickly that attention and opportunity are not always evenly distributed. That experience shaped how I see The Gambia today. I often reflect on whether every young person, regardless of where they are born or the circumstances they face, can truly feel seen, heard and given a fair chance to move forward in life.
That is the Gambia I hope future generations inherit. A country where no young person feels that leaving is their only path to success, where women are fully part of economic and political life, and where opportunity is not reserved for a few but shared more widely. Having grown up learning to navigate space, voice, and opportunity within a large family, I am deeply conscious of what it means when systems include people and what it costs when they do not.
The Sustainable Development Goals often feel like global targets. How do they translate into everyday life for Gambians?
The Gambia has made encouraging progress in education, healthcare, social protection and institutional reforms. However, challenges remain. The country's SDG Index score currently stands at about 58.3. With only 15.4% of SDG targets currently on track, around 29% remain off track. Fiscal constraints continue to limit investment in critical sectors, climate change increasingly threatens agriculture, livelihoods and coastal communities, and youth unemployment remains one of the country's most pressing development challenges.
Yet I remain optimistic.
Our greatest opportunity is our young people. If we invest in education, digital skills, entrepreneurship, innovation, and gender equality, we can accelerate progress across many development goals simultaneously.
The SDGs are not simply international commitments. They are practical pathways toward improving the daily lives of Gambians.
You have led some of the country's most important development processes. Looking back, what makes you most proud?
The work I am most proud of has been supporting some of The Gambia's most important national development processes, including the National Human Development Report, the Integrated National Financing Framework, the Development Finance Assessment, the Voluntary National Review. These initiatives have brought together government, development partners and communities to shape evidence-based policies and position The Gambia's development priorities on both regional and global stages.
I was also honoured to be selected for UNDP's EQUANOMICS Global Learning Lab on Gender Equal Economies, joining colleagues from more than 120 Country Offices. It reinforced my belief that economies grow stronger when women and young people have equal opportunities to participate and thrive.
Earlier in my career as a banker, I developed an SME banking product to help address the financing gap facing small businesses. Nearly two decades later, it continues to support thousands of young Gambians in accessing capital to build businesses and livelihoods. Looking back, I realise that whether through finance or public policy, my work has always been driven by the same purpose: creating opportunities that improve people's lives and contribute to The Gambia's future.
Development work can sometimes be difficult and demanding. Has there been a moment that tested you?
Moving from a banking career to development over the past decade has taught me that meaningful change rarely happens overnight. In banking, success is often measured by immediate results, numbers, products and transactions. In development, progress is slower and far more complex. It means bringing together institutions with different priorities, building consensus, translating policies into action and ensuring communities ultimately feel the impact in their daily lives. Those experiences have taught me that lasting development depends on patience, trust and continuous dialogue. Above all, they have reshaped my understanding of leadership: it is not about having all the answers, but about listening deeply, bringing people together and creating the space for collective solutions.
If a young Gambian girl were sitting across from you today, dreaming of becoming an economist or a leader, what would you tell her?
I would tell her that economics, finance, public policy and leadership are not spaces reserved for other people. They belong to her too. Her voice, her ideas and her perspective matter, and she should never allow her background, her gender or her circumstances define what she believes is possible. The future of The Gambia will be shaped by young people who are curious, ethical and committed to serving their communities, but it begins with believing that you belong in the room.
As our conversation comes to an end, Binta quietly closes one of the reports resting on her desk. The pages still hold their figures, projections and economic forecasts, but her thoughts have already travelled elsewhere.
As I leave her office, the reports remain where they were when I arrived. But they feel different now. They are no longer simply documents measuring the state of a nation. In Binta’s hands, they become something far more powerful: a quiet promise that The Gambia’s future can be more inclusive, more equitable and more hopeful than its present. And for a woman who has helped shape national conversations, influence policy, mobilize partnerships, and champion opportunities for women and young people, perhaps her greatest contribution is reminding The Gambia that development is not measured by numbers alone, but by the lives those numbers represent.
