ECOWAS And Ae-Trade Group Sign Agreement to Enhance Access to Market for Smes, Women and Youths in the West African Region
22 Oct, 2024On the margins of the Biashara Afrika conference in Kigali, in October 2024, Professor Fatou Sow Sarr, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs representing the ECOWAS Commission, and Mr Mulualem Syoum, CEO of the AeTrade Group signed a historic partnership agreement to facilitate access for SMEs, women and youths in West Africa to trade through AeTrade Group digital platforms including Sokokuu. Africa and 50MAWSP. This will fast-track digital, financial inclusion and job creation in West Africa and boost intra-African trade under the AfCFTA.
The formal signing of the historic collaboration agreement came as a follow-up to a strategic meeting that took place at the AeTrade Group Continental Headquarters on October 8th, 2024. The meeting convened participation both in-person and virtually from COMESA, EAC Secretariat and ECOWAS.
Professor. Fatou Sow Sarr, and her delegation from the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre (EGDC), briefed participants at the meeting on the 50 Million African Women Speak Platform (50MAWSP) and what the EGDC has been doing since its establishment and its vision to sustain such initiative in the ECOWAS region.
After introducing the team at AeTrade Group continental headquarters, the CEO and the team presented the AeTrade Group integrated ecosystem to the ECOWAS delegation. The team presented insights about Sokokuu.Africa platform robust ecosystem with integrated solutions to support the growth of MSMEs improve their competitiveness in trade and promote “Made in Africa’ in the continent and global marketplace.
During the past year, the AeTrade Group has made significant progress in establishing the digital trade infrastructure to enhance the visibility and export readiness of women and youth-led SMEs through onboarding onto the digital marketplace (Sokokuu.Africa). More than 330 partners have signed up through a shared prosperity model and more are welcome to participate in this inclusive sustainable programme.
Using world-class tools for financial and digital inclusion the AeTrade Group is ready to implement an innovative approach in Rwanda to scale up job creation and youth entrepreneurship in agricultural regional value chains. This is one of the priority areas in the Action Plan to strengthen food systems across the continent.
The meeting concluded with the commitment to strengthen the partnership and its operational modalities to derive greater impact results in digital trade, trade in goods and trade in services as well as capacity building for the marginalised groups on the ECOWAS Region including MSMEs, women, youth and rural communities to benefit from the AfCFTA.
