THE COMING OF AGE OF THE NEW GAMBIAN ECONOMY

The Gambian economy has gone through significant transformation over the years.  In the early 1970s, the Gambia was an agrarian economy with groundnut and cotton being the major crops.  In the late 70s and 80s, tourism got a boost.  Hotels were major tax payers and employers.

The late 90s and early 2000 witnessed an unprecedented growth of the financial sector (banking and related services) and petroleum marketing.  They were the foremost payers of taxes to the State.

The “Digital Revolution” of the early 2000s gave rise to new business models that relied heavily on technology for its delivery. Telecommunication was no stronger to this emerging trend.  In the initial rush, GAMTEL, a state-owned enterprise became a dominant corporate in The Gambia both in terms of its net worth and tax obligations to the State.  By 2007, the economic landscape of The Gambia went through significant transformation as it relates to total taxes collected and the shift in dominance by the telecommunication sector was cast in stone.  The establishment of GAMCEL, AFRICELL, COMIUM and QCELL changed the market dynamics and by default the economic landscape of the Gambia.  Telcos as we refer to companies in the telecommunication sector changed the behavioural pattern of Gambians and consequently the fortunes of the Gambia Revenue Authority and by extension the Social Security and Housing Corporation.  The Telco phenomenon comes with a lot of controversies mostly centering around size and supremacy.

AFRICELL claimed to be the biggest operator in The Gambia both in terms of subscriber base revenue. Equally, the latest entrant in the market QCELL boast of its market dominance and size. Well the proof of the pudding is in the eating and the two most reliable barometers of their claims can be verified through their dues paid to the public regulator (PURA) or their tax obligations to Gambia Revenue Authority.

Based on 2018 tax receipts, AFRICELL is by far the biggest corporate in The Gambia and the number one amongst the out of the 50 biggest tax payers in the nation.  AFRICELL ranked first, QCELL ranked second, Comium ranked forth, GAMCEL ranked seventh and GAMTEL ranked nineteenth.  The ranking are a cumulative aggregate of their value added taxes, corporate income taxes, employee taxes, withholding and other taxes.  Zeroing into the Telco sector, it is clearly evident that AFRICELL is way bigger than all the other telecommunication companies combined.

QCELL, Comium, GAMCEL and GAMTEL paid a total of 473,509,065 million Dalasis whilst AFRICELL paid 703,788,281 million Dalasis in 2018.  This explicitly imply that AFRICELL by all standards is bigger than any Telco in The Gambia and the receipts of all other Telcos combined is still less than their total payables.


Company Total in Million Dalasis
AFRICELL 703,788,281
QCELL 229,009,211
COMIUM 116,528,040
GAMCEL 95,901,620
GAMTEL 32,070,194



The Gambian economy has shown clear signs of a shift to a more service driven economy led by the telecommunication companies.  The issue of the biggest Telco must now be put to rest as the verdict has been issued by the tax authority.  The rest is for the regulator to bring to order the deceptive marketing campaign that is prevalent in our news outlets and outdoor advertising materials on our highways. Telecommunications will undoubtedly continue to be be the pace setter of economic growth as the next frontier will be fought in the FINTECH area.