ABIDJAN, April 16 – West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) has secured a 1.7 billion CFA franc grant (about 3 million US dollars) from the African Development Fund (AFD) to support a regional programme aimed at strengthening private-sector competitiveness and advancing trade integration across the bloc.
The financing covers eight member states, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo, where policymakers are working to deepen economic coordination and improve participation in continental trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area framework West African Economic and Monetary Union.
At the centre of the programme is an effort to align national trade policies with the African Continental Free Trade Area African Continental Free Trade Area. This will include national consultations with AfCFTA committees and a regional workshop intended to establish a common framework for monitoring implementation and strengthening regulatory coordination across member states.
The initiative also prioritises small and medium-sized enterprises, particularly export-ready firms with significant participation from women and young entrepreneurs. Around 80 SMEs are expected to receive targeted training covering export procedures, access to finance, regulatory compliance, digital tools and sustainable production practices.
The funding, approved by the African Development Fund African Development Fund, is designed to harmonise national strategies while reinforcing regional integration mechanisms and improving the effectiveness of trade facilitation tools across the union.
“The project aims to establish a framework for harmonising and aligning national strategies, and leverages the complementarities and synergies of national efforts, whilst strengthening the effectiveness of existing instruments for promoting sub-regional integration,” said Lamin Barrow, Director General for West Africa at the African Development Bank Group.
The programme is expected to benefit an estimated 147 million people across the region, with anticipated gains including lower trade costs, improved customs efficiency and expanded intra-regional commerce.
