The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund has completed the fourth review of The Gambia’s programme under the Extended Credit Facility and the first review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility, unlocking fresh funding to support economic reforms and climate resilience.
The decision enables the immediate disbursement of about US$38.15 million, the IMF said in a statement issued in Washington. This includes around US$17.0 million under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and about US$21.2 million under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).
The ECF arrangement, approved in January 2024, is designed to help The Gambia tackle long-standing structural constraints to inclusive growth, while the RSF, approved in June 2025, supports policies aimed at strengthening macroeconomic resilience and building buffers against climate-related shocks.
With the latest disbursement, total IMF support under the ECF rises to about $68.0 million, while this marks the first release of funds under the RSF framework.
The IMF said The Gambia’s economic recovery remains on track, with real gross domestic product projected to expand by around 6.0 percent in 2025. Growth has been supported by a rebound in agriculture, construction and tourism, key pillars of the economy.
Inflation has continued to ease, falling to about 7.0 percent by the end of October 2025, returning to single digits after a period of elevated price pressures. However, the Fund cautioned that the outlook remains exposed to downside risks, including uncertainty linked to global geopolitical developments.
IMF staff noted that the authorities have made good progress in implementing their reform agenda under both programmes, despite ongoing fiscal challenges. The Fund said priorities going forward include boosting domestic revenue mobilisation and advancing fiscal consolidation to safeguard debt sustainability, while maintaining spending on social services and infrastructure.
As part of the review, the Executive Board approved a waiver for the non-observance of a performance criterion related to the end-June 2025 target on net international reserves, citing corrective actions taken by the authorities.
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Following the board discussion, IMF Deputy Managing Director and acting chair Bo Li said The Gambia’s economy continued to post “robust growth and declining inflation,” with programme implementation broadly satisfactory.
He said the authorities had reaffirmed their commitment to reform despite global uncertainties, and stressed the importance of meeting 2025 fiscal targets even in the face of a delayed external disbursement.
According to the IMF, this will require strong tax collection efforts and tight expenditure control, including strict prioritisation of spending and cash management. The Fund warned against fiscal slippages during the election period and called for sustained consolidation over the medium term to rebuild fiscal buffers, preserve debt sustainability and support development spending.
The IMF also underscored the need to strengthen public financial management, limit fiscal risks stemming from state-owned enterprises and public-private partnerships, and improve data quality to enhance transparency and accountability.
On monetary policy, the Fund said maintaining price stability and a market-determined exchange rate remains critical. It urged the central bank to ensure that any easing of its tight policy stance is guided by data and supports further convergence of inflation towards its medium-term target.
The IMF noted that the foreign exchange market has been functioning smoothly following recent policy reforms and welcomed the central bank’s commitment to end direct or indirect financial support to public entities, a move seen as key to protecting its balance sheet.
IMF led reforms in Gambia
Structural reforms remain central to The Gambia’s longer-term growth prospects, the IMF said, calling for continued progress on governance, anti-corruption efforts and improvements to the business environment to spur private sector development and job creation. It highlighted the planned operationalisation of the anti-corruption commission, pending parliamentary approval, as an important milestone.
The Fund also stressed the importance of steadfast implementation of climate-related reforms under the RSF, saying they would strengthen resilience to natural disasters and underpin long-term macroeconomic and balance-of-payments stability.
Careful sequencing of reforms under both IMF-supported programmes, backed by targeted capacity development, will be essential to sustaining progress, the Fund said.
