ECOWAS Promotes Women’s Participation in Regional Cross-Border Trade

Dakar, capital of the Republic of Senegal, is hosting a two-day meeting from November 28 to 29, 2024, organized by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), as part of the official launch of a Technical Sub-Committee on Women in Trade under the Regional Trade Facilitation Committee (RTFC).

Important items on the agenda of the meeting include (i) the consideration of trade obstacles faced by women traders at borders, and (ii) the development of a multi-year action plan (2025 – 2028) for RTFC technical sub-committee on the women in trade, with a view to addressing the obstacles identified.

This meeting was officially launched by Madame MAIMOUNA DIEYE, Senegal’s Minister of Family and Solidarity, represented by Madame Astou Diouf Gueye, Director of Gender Equity and Equality. In her speech, Minister MAIMOUNA DIEYE emphasized that this meeting testifies to West Africa’s collective commitment to overcoming the challenges that hinder women’s full participation in trade, and to harnessing their potential as drivers of economic development and regional integration.

Dr Serigne Guèye DIOP, Senegal’s Minister of Industry and Trade, who had addressed the participants earlier, painted a current picture of the various obstacles hindering women’s ability to participate in cross-border trade , which include institutional, cultural and economic barriers. “These barriers contribute to keeping women in the informal economy, where they lack access to the resources they need to grow their businesses,” he said. He therefore warmly thanked the ECOWAS Commission for its tireless efforts to implement a common trade policy for its member states, and above all for its dynamic approach to trade facilitation issues, notably through the Regional Trade Facilitation Committee (RTFC).

Also speaking at the launch of this inaugural meeting on behalf of Mme Massadjé TOURE-LITSE, Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Mr. Kolawole SOFOLA, Director of Trade at the ECOWAS Commission, affirmed that women’s participation in international and regional trade is crucial to achieving inclusive and sustainable economic growth in the West African region and contributing to the achievement of the objectives of ECOWAS Vision 2050, which places women’s economic empowerment at the forefront of communities’ development strategies. He concluded his remarks by emphasizing that the creation of a technical sub-committee on women in trade aims to ensure that trade facilitation interventions take into consideration the needs of women traders through gender mainstreaming, export competitiveness, gender-sensitive border infrastructure, etc.

For Dr Barbara KY, Director of Gender at the Commission of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), this inaugural meeting is a key step towards strengthening the role of women in cross-border trade and promoting greater economic integration in West Africa. She also recalled that UEMOA and ECOWAS, have a longstanding collaboration in implementing trade facilitation measures for the benefit of member states, focusing in particular on women traders.

The meeting is attended by experts and delegates from the Ministries and Agencies responsible for gender issues in the member states. Are also in attendance, representatives of the Food System Resilience Program (FSRP), regional women’s organizations such as the Federation of Businesswomen and Women Entrepreneurs (FEFA/FEBWE) and the Organization of Women in International Trade (OWIT) as well as experts from the ECOWAS Commission and the World Bank Group.