Policymakers and companies in West Africa now have a web based software to trace their nations’ commerce competitiveness and to seek out new enterprise alternatives within the area, with the launch of the West African Competitiveness Observatory.
The ECOWAS Fee and the Worldwide Commerce Centre (ITC), with monetary help of the European Union (EU), launched the net platform at a high-level occasion on 21 Might 2024, in Abuja, the Nigerian Capital metropolis, to assist unleash financial progress throughout West Africa, the place greater than half of intraregional export potential, valued at $3.2 billion, stays untapped. West Africa’s exports are extra aggressive throughout the area than on the remainder of the continent or in world markets.
The West African Competitiveness Observatory serves as a monitoring software for assessing the commerce competitiveness of West African nations and the area. Its main perform is to help policymakers in crafting insurance policies that promote commerce competitiveness and facilitate the event of worth chains, which additionally help native companies, particularly small companies, in integrating into regional worth chains. The Observatory presents three modules that allow policymakers to watch and analyze commerce competitiveness at each nationwide and regional ranges. Companies can use the platform to determine enterprise alternatives and interact with patrons and suppliers throughout markets within the area.
The Commerce Competitiveness Module permits complete monitoring and evaluation of nations’ commerce competitiveness, presenting knowledge on on the world, continental, and regional ranges. The Regional Worth Chain Module permits policymakers and companies to evaluate and combine regional worth chains, offering insights into 5 key sectors: attire and textiles; magnificence, wellness and private care merchandise; meals preparations for toddler use; processed fish and crustacean merchandise; processed fruits, greens, and roots.
The Enterprise Matchmaking Module facilitates cross-border collaboration for companies by selling services and products and permitting them to attach with companions throughout the area, aided by computerized translation in English, French and Portuguese.
“The Observatory will present necessary data for Coverage makers and companies to reap the benefits of worldwide markets. Supporting SMEs to successfully entry the market and generate employment and contribute to financial progress.” said Madame Massandjé TOURE-LITSE, Commissioner, Financial Affairs and Agriculture, ECOWAS Fee.
Madame Massandjé TOURE-LITSE, Commissioner for Financial Affairs and Agriculture on the ECOWAS Fee, emphasised the essential function of the Observatory in her latest assertion. She remarked, “The Observatory will present necessary data for policymakers and companies to reap the benefits of worldwide markets. Supporting SMEs to successfully entry the market and generate employment and contribute to financial progress.
“Policymakers and companies, use the Observatory for insights into your area’s nice untapped commerce potential and switch that potential into tangible financial advantages,” mentioned ITC Govt Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton. “We hope to see companies, particularly small companies, profit from this software to seek out patrons and discover new markets.”
The launch of the Observatory comes at a time when West Africa navigates the challenges posed by globalization, technological development, and an evolving commerce panorama. With its three modules, the Observatory goals to place West Africa as a hub of financial progress and alternatives on the worldwide stage. In response to ITC’s export potential estimates, West Africa might add $45.7 billion in exports to the world by 2027.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Financial Neighborhood of West African States (ECOWAS).
