Mr. Mafoday Cham is a Gambian entrepreneur, BAMF-certified interpreter and mediator, and community leader based in Germany since 1994. As Co-Founder and CEO of the Gambia European Center for Jobs, Migration and Development Agency (GECJMDA), he brings over three decades of professional experience spanning gastronomy, migration consultancy, insurance advisory, and diaspora development.
Before co-founding GECJMDA, Mr. Cham built a distinguished career as a Cook and Chef de Tournant at Mercedes-Benz AG in Stuttgart, where he served for over 20 years and received the highest possible evaluation in his final Arbeitszeugnis- (Company Certificate) Alongside this career, he was simultaneously building community ties across Baden-Württemberg — laying the foundation for the diaspora service work he leads today.
Mr. Cham is a BAMF-certified interpreter and mediator for Mandinka, Wolof, and English in German asylum and migration proceedings, and has been court-sworn at the Amtsgericht Rottweil since 2025. He holds a Fachwirt im Gastgewerbe- ( Business administrator in Hospitality Management) qualification and is a licensed insurance advisor with ERGO Versicherung AG (§34d GewO).
He is widely recognised for organising the Afrika Festival Böblingen (since 2017) and Afrikafest Freudenstadt (since 2022), creating platforms that celebrate African culture while strengthening ties between African communities and German society.
Through GECJMDA — now an IOM-recognised organisation through the MSD Diaspora Fellowship Programme — Mr. Cham continues to lead legal migration facilitation, family reunification support, the Gam-EU Sprachschule Online, and au pair placement services for Gambians across Germany and West Africa.
Key Credentials (for display as tags/badges if desired)
- BAMF-Certified Interpreter & Mediator — Mandinka, Wolof, English
- Court-Sworn Interpreter, Amtsgericht Rottweil (since 2025)
- Fachwirt im Gastgewerbe
- Licensed Insurance Advisor, ERGO Versicherung AG (§34d GewO)
- Chef de Tournant, Mercedes-Benz AG Stuttgart (20+ years)
- Founder, Afrika Festival Böblingen & Afrikafest Freudenstadt
- IOM/MSDG Partner Organisation Co-Founder
- Based in Germany since 1994 | German citizen since 2014