Categories: AfricaFinance

Enhancing Integration, Unlocking Investment in West Africa

Participants discussed policies and incentives to increase the flow of investment across West Africa.

West Africa is stepping up efforts to integrate regional economies and improve the investment climate with the support of the World Bank Group. At a mid-June event in Dakar, a regional public-private dialogue framework was launched to jointly identify regional and national investment constraints, facilitate investment-policy improvements, and enhance integration in the region. Preliminary national investment policy reform agendas were developed for each country that are part of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

More than 50 representatives participated in the two-day event from the public and private sectors of the 15 ECOWAS countries, including ministers from Senegal, Niger and Liberia. The member countries strongly welcomed the initiative. It was hosted by ECOWAS and the West African Economic and Monetary Union.

Kalilou Traore, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Industry and Private Sector Promotion, said, “This project will enable our region’s integration into the global economy while ensuring the competitiveness of our private sector by improving the business climate.”

“West African countries have enormous potential to strengthen competitiveness and increase trade and investment flows, which can drive growth, reduce poverty, and deliver jobs in the region.”

Houria Sammari, Manager, IFC Sub-Saharan Africa

Reforms target investment entry regulations and investment incentives, to help reduce uncertainty for investors, enable governments to attract more and better-quality investments to their countries, and increase the flow of investment across the region. The improvements will be monitored through scorecards and offer opportunities for member countries to discuss best practices.

Speaking at the event, Houria Sammari Manager, IFC Sub-Saharan Africa, said, “West African countries have enormous potential to strengthen competitiveness and increase trade and investment flows, which can drive growth, reduce poverty, and deliver jobs in the region.”

The Improved Business and Investment Climate Project four-year project is funded by the European Union (€7.7 million) and implemented by the World Bank Group Trade and Competitiveness Global Practice. Source

marten

Recent Posts

Kathrein Privatbank: Innovating Private Banking with Digitalisation, Sustainable Investing, and Regional Expansion

For over a century, Kathrein Privatbank has remained a benchmark for private banking excellence in…

2 days ago

La Trobe Financial: Unpacking the Rise of Private Markets and Private Credit

Private markets—particularly private credit—have experienced a marked surge in investor interest in recent years. Though…

5 days ago

Young Guns: How Business Prodigies are Rewriting the Rules of Success

Forget grey hairs and decades of experience. A new generation of entrepreneurs is proving that…

1 week ago

Dough-ing a 180: How Domino’s Pizza Reclaimed Its Slice of the Pie

Once dismissed as the punchline of the fast-food industry, Domino’s Pizza has since orchestrated one…

2 weeks ago

Best Buy’s Blue-Shirt Renaissance: How It Fought Back Against Amazon

Once teetering on the brink of collapse in the face of Amazon’s relentless rise, Best…

2 weeks ago

Driving Through the Storm: How Ford Avoided a Bailout and Steered Towards the Future

The 2008 financial crisis brought the American auto industry to the brink of collapse. While…

3 weeks ago