The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund (ADF) has approved a grant of 1.7 billion CFA francs to finance the Project to Strengthen Competitiveness of the Private Sector across the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU).

The project aims to strengthen competitiveness of the private sector and the broader economy across all eight WAEMU member states: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo, while supporting the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). It will do so by capitalising on production and trade opportunities, and facilitating the region’s deeper integration into the AfCFTA market.

National consultations will be convened with National Committees of the Free Trade Area to assess the implementation status of the AfCFTA Agreement and establish an operational framework. A regional workshop will follow to agree on a regional framework for accountability, facilitation and monitoring to strengthen the Agreement’s execution.

The project will also deliver targeted support, including training of trainers, to 80 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are ready to start exporting their products. Many of these SMEs are owned by women and young people. They will receive guidance on export procedures, access to finance, regulatory compliance, use of new technologies, and sustainable production practices.

“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, the African Development Bank Group’s Director General for West Africa. He added that the Bank has extensive experience in supporting regional integration, through operations in infrastructure, trade facilitation and export diversification.

The project’s direct beneficiaries include the public institutions responsible for AfCFTA implementation, private-sector stakeholders within the Union, and the broader population of approximately 147 million people. The interventions are expected to yield tangible gains through improved trade facilitation, reduced trade costs, and the creation of medium- and long-term trade opportunities. The project will further WAEMU’s capacity as a customs union and support the WAEMU Regional Chamber of Commerce in its role as the private sector's representative in the regional integration process.