The African Development Fund has approved a grant of 1.7 billion CFA francs to strengthen private sector competitiveness across the West African Economic and Monetary Union.
The programme covers all eight WAEMU member states, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo, and is aimed at helping businesses produce more competitively and expand exports under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework.
At the centre of the initiative is support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including targeted training for 80 businesses that are ready to begin exporting. Many of these firms are owned by women and young entrepreneurs.
The support package will help SMEs understand export procedures, access financing, meet regulatory requirements, adopt new technologies and improve sustainable production practices.
The project also includes national consultations and regional workshops involving AfCFTA National Committees to assess implementation progress and build a shared monitoring framework for trade facilitation across the region.
According to the AfDB Group, the initiative is designed to harmonise national strategies, strengthen regional coordination, and improve the effectiveness of existing tools for integration.
The broader goal is to reduce trade barriers, lower costs, and unlock new market opportunities across a regional population of about 147 million people, while strengthening WAEMU’s role as a customs union and supporting its regional chamber of commerce.
The African Development Fund said the programme will contribute to deeper regional integration and help position West African SMEs to benefit more fully from continental trade opportunities under AfCFTA.
