Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is planning to establish Business houses in all member countries to facilitate trade among the members.
During the press conference at the National Association of Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) office in Lagos, the ECOWAS commissioner for industry and private sector promotion, Kalilou Traore said the objective of establishing business house in all member countries is to foster intra-regional trade, promote ECOWAS exports and deepen market penetration for MSMEs in region.
He stated specific objectives to include facilitating bulk creation and standardization in the region, reduce cost of business for SME companies, market research, create export links with potential buyers, and promote the warehouse credit sector in the region among others.
“Several years after regionalism, intra-regional trade in ECOWAS is still consistently low at about 12 percent and the advantages of a ‘single trading bloc’ unlocked for the region,” Traore said.
“The migration of MSMES to large company status and the increasing sustainability and competitiveness of big businesses is fundamental to large company status and the increasing sustainability and competitiveness of big businesses is fundamental to achieving increasing net employment, GDP/revenues and a ‘single large trading block,” he further said.
Aside each country ECOWAS business house (EBH), there will be regional EBH which will be providing a policy direction and supervisory role for member countries under its jurisdiction, just the same way ECO Bank operate.
He however let us realizes that the EBH will be private sector driven initiatives.
Also speaking at the event Enobong Umoessiea, business and enterprise promotion ECOWAS, said expectation is that within the first five years of establishment of the ECOWAS business house, apart from boosting Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the regional economies, made in ECOWAS states products will be viable and visibly present in the regional market and companies that are involved will be well exposed to reaping the gains from international trade.
Tunde Oyelola of NEXPORTTRADE House Limited, member of the committee , commented that interregional trade among the member countries has been hovering around 12 percent in the past several years and that the EBH has the potential to improve trade outcomes significantly.
The Deputy Director, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Sani Yandaki, allayed fears of Nigeria and other countries in ECOWAS being a dumping ground, saying that the project will open markets for products made in the sub-region.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is a regional group of fifteen West African countries. Founded on 28 May 1975, with the signing of the treaty of Lagos, its mission is to promote economic integration across the region, national cooperation, and monetary union, for growth and development throughout West Africa.
