ECOWAS: West Africa Competitiveness Programme (WACOMP)

Africa

Overview

Summary

The overall objective of the regional programme is to ‘’Strengthen the competitiveness of West Africa through an enhanced level of production, transformation and export capacities of the private sectors in line with the regional and national industrial and SME strategies’’. The specific objective is ‘’to improve the performance and growth of selected priority sectors and value chains and related services by stimulating their contribution to industry, regional trade and exports’’. The intervention of ITC in the form of the West Africa Competitiveness Programme (WACOMP) will entail the implementation of the activities related to the promotion of better regional linkages among selected value chain, support to key regional intermediary organizations, the reinforcement of industrial competitiveness in the region, and the establishment of the West African Competitiveness Observatory and related business tools.

View more on the Open Data Portal

Partners

Funder

European Commission, Directorate-General International Partnerships

Implementer

Communaute économique des Etats de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (CEDEAO)/Commission de la CEDEAO - Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)/ECOWAS Commission

Implementer

Delegation of the European Union to Nigeria and ECOWAS

Implementer

United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)

Implementer

Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FEWACCI)

Implementer

Union économique et monétaire ouest africaine - Burkina Faso

Sustainable Development Goals

This project contributes to the following Sustainable Development Goals, as defined by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

SDG - Peace, justice and strong institutions

Projects

Guinea: Relance de la filière ananas (REFILA)

The Pineapple Sector Revival Project (REFILA) is the national component for the Republic

Sénégal: Programme d'appui à la Compétitivité de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (PACAO)

The West Africa Competitiveness Support Program (WACOMP) in Senegal is implemented by the

Sierra Leone: West Africa Competitiveness Programme

The project aims to enhance the competitiveness of the cocoa, palm oil and cassava sectors

Context

Expanding West African trade

The goal of the International Trade Centre (ITC)’s West African Competitiveness Programme, or WACOMP, is to increase regional integration through trade. To that end, we focus on promoting conducive business environments and greater participation of the private sector in a public-private dialogue on trade policy.

In the regional programme we concentrate on improving micro, small and medium-sized enterprises’ (MSMEs) access to secure investments and improving their regional reach. We also work to advance production and processing in the agro-food industry.

To improve business performance and value chain connectivity, we are reinforcing national Trade and Investment Support Institutions as well as supporting the ECOWAS Trade Promotion Organisations Network to share best practices and insights.

Business tools

We are expanding the use of ITC technological tools to gather comprehensive information in the region. The Trade Obstacles Alert Mechanism (TOAM) identifies existing trade obstacles to ensure the regional flow of trade improves once these obstacles are addressed.

ITC has also embedded the ECOWAS trade map tool (ECOTIS) in the ECOWAS Commission’s website to assist with tracking trade performance and capitalize on potential trade opportunities in the region.

Testimonials

The first training session was a mind-opener to the growth opportunities that exist in other African markets. My team looks forward to learning more on how we can build resilience as we scale up.

Kwesi Kwofie

DATAWARE

Above all, the trainings have enabled us to see our strategies from a new angle, consider export possibilities, and to think about different scenarios. Today, with our selection, which my team and I are very proud of, we hope that the tools that will be made available to us will enable us to further strengthen our strategy and be able to sell in the sub-regional market.

Aichatoun Amadou Toure

CODESIGN

Through the WACOMP trainings, we discovered insidious actions that we were carrying out without much attention. This has led us to review our commercial approaches. I appreciate the open-mindedness of the facilitators and participants as well.

Fabrice Sonzahi

AFRIX

ITC's Trade Obstacle Alert Mechanism platform (TOAM) will improve Nigerian exporters’ competitiveness, should challenges be adequately addressed. More sensitization and advocacy programs on initiatives like the TOAM should be conducted to the benefit of women entrepreneurs in Nigeria.

Angela Ajala

African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program AWEP