The Commune of Gueule Tapée-Fass-Colobane, organized a launching ceremony for the rehabilitation of the Soumbédioune fish market, a flagship project of the Fass-Émergent program carried by the municipality and financed by UNCDF within the framework of its IncluCity program.

IncluCity is a new global initiative that builds on UNCDF's past and current experience in inclusive economic development and municipal financing. Its goal is to demonstrate how increased investments in municipal services and infrastructure can reduce inequality and alleviate poverty among the most vulnerable populations, including women and girls, minorities and other marginalized groups.

The ceremony was attended by a variety of participants including local and government authorities, the municipal council, local leaders, women fish sellers from Soumbédioune and development partners.

According to Ms. Maimouna Ndiaye, spokesperson for the fish sellers, "This renovation is timely". "The roof, the cold room, the separate toilets and the new stalls have long been crucial needs. All these facilities will improve our working conditions and increase our income. Our daily burdens will also lighten and our privacy respected. All this will improve our fulfillment in the market," she added.

IncluCity is proposed here as a solution to a local need. Beyond the inclusion and economic empowerment of women, the project aims to build economic resilience and self-reliance in the municipality.

"We hope that this municipal investment will create a clean and conducive working environment for women selling fish and expand economic opportunities. This market will also generate resources for the municipality to ensure the maintenance and sustainability of the infrastructure," said Ms. Christel Alvergne, Regional Coordinator of UNCDF.

"The project has been identified as a priority in the Gueule Tapée-Fass-Colobane Communal Development Plan (PDC), because of its strong socio-economic potential, especially for the economic empowerment of women. Indeed, this renovation will change the daily life of fishermen and women sellers. The women currently only sell their fish from 5 pm onwards. With the new infrastructure, notably the roof and the cold room, the women sellers, who are currently estimated at 200, could come to the market earlier and double their working hours. This will have an impact on their daily income, estimated today at more than 100,000 CFA francs per vendor, which will also double," said the mayor of the commune, Abdoul Aziz Paye.

One of the main innovations of the project is the fact that the market's beneficiaries have been included in the project's steering committee, in order to promote ownership and improve the sustainable and inclusive management of assets. The rehabilitation of the market will also be accompanied by training in infrastructure asset management to ensure the physical and financial sustainability of the market.