ECOWAS Adopts Strategy to Boost e-Commerce in West Africa

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Council of Ministers of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has endorsed a regional e-commerce strategy for the organization’s 15 member nations.

At the recently concluded session, the Council adopted the strategy that will boost e-commerce in West Africa through specific measures responding to the needs of ECOWAS, identified by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) recent eTrade readiness assessment for the region.

“The newly endorsed strategy is the beginning of a transformative journey aimed at bridging the regional digital divide and boosting e-commerce development,” said Ms Shamika N. Sirimanne, director of technology and logistics at UNCTAD.

“It is a milestone that UNCTAD is proud to have supported in the framework of our longstanding partnership with ECOWAS,” Ms Sirimanne added.

The strategy, which was developed through a multi-stakeholder and participatory process, aims at accelerating structural change and development and fostering regional integration through economic diversification and job creation.

“ECOWAS is committed to increasing the adoption and use of e-commerce to promote the implementation of the ECOWAS Vision 2050 for an inclusive and sustainable development for the region,” said Mrs Massandjé Toure-Litse, commissioner for economic affairs and agriculture at the ECOWAS Commission.

“The e-commerce strategy will support the digital-driven structural transformation of the economies of Member States and deepen regional trade integration,” the commissioner added.

Among the 15 ECOWAS states, 11 are the least developed countries that are generally more vulnerable to external shocks. The new strategy seeks to mitigate such vulnerability and make the region’s economies more resilient to future crises.

The strategy will enable the ECOWAS Commission to better support trade ministries in the region and help member nations diversify their economies, and leverage new economic and trade opportunities through e-commerce.

The strategy aims to build trust along the e-commerce supply chain through a harmonised and updated legal and regulatory framework, reliable digital payment methods, secure marketplaces or websites, and connecting e-commerce buyers and sellers with high-quality products through secured logistics and delivery services.

It also aims to provide reliable data on e-commerce by establishing a regional e-commerce observatory and improving the capacity of ECOWAS member states to collect and analyse data.

This should eventually lead to better-informed, evidence-based policymaking in the region and targeted support from development partners.

In addition, the strategy shines a spotlight on digitally vulnerable groups, including women, the youth, people with disabilities and informal cross-border traders in e-commerce.

It will not only make e-commerce more accessible to these groups but also actively involve them as entrepreneurs and leaders to help create more jobs.

“We have seen, through UNCTAD’s work with women entrepreneurs, that the approach of empowering vulnerable groups can be particularly successful and inspiring, with the potential to lead to a truly inclusive e-commerce environment,” Ms Sirimanne added.

To deliver on these ambitious goals, the ECOWAS e-commerce strategy is supported by rigorous governance and implementation frameworks.

While the ECOWAS Commission will facilitate strategy implementation, its member states will lead implementation at the national level. Civil society and private sector actors will also participate through an e-commerce community forum and expert groups.

“Robust coordination at both the national and regional levels will support the implementation by members states,” added Mr Kolawole Sofola, acting director of trade at the ECOWAS Commission.