ECOWAS Experts met in Banjul to prepare the methodology, data collection questionnaire and detailed structure of the report of the Study on the Digital Markets

Multi-Agency working group comprising members of  Consultative Competition Committee of ERCA and sectoral experts from Member States met in Banjul to prepare the methodology, data collection questionnaire and detailed structure of the report of the Study on the Digital Markets

The ECOWAS Consultative Committee on Competition (CCC) in collaboration with Sectoral experts from Member states met to prepare the methodology, data collection questionnaire and detailed structure of the report of the Study on the Digital Markets from the 11^th to 15^th March 2024, in Banjul, Republic of the Gambia.

The meeting brought together Members of the ERCA Consultative Competition Committee (CCC) ,sectoral experts from Member States and ERCA staff to review and share inputs  on the study on digital markets in terms of the  the scope, methodology, study approach, data collection framework, data analysis, detailed study outline and timeline.

The Executive Director (ED) of ERCA, Dr Simeon KOFFI on behalf of the President of ECOWAS Commission Dr. Omar Alieu TOURAY and the Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Madame Massandjé TOURE-LITSE welcomed the delegates to Banjul and thanked them for attending the meeting.

He pointed out that the meeting was a preparatory meeting for the digital market study to be conducted by member states, following the  recommendations of the 8^th CCC meeting held in Abuja last February.

The Executive Director  stated that the objective of the study is to help Member States and ERCA to have a clear  understanding of the market dynamics and regulatory environment for the digital market and assess the state of competition and consumer in member states. He pointed out that this will enable member states to provide guidelines on ways for digital markets to be competitive and consumer oriented while observing the Community competition rules and the rights and protection of consumers.

The meeting agreed to narrow the scope of the study on the digital marketing to the e-commerce and online financial platforms at informal and formal sectors including online advertisement, marketing and search engines.

At the end of the study, ERCA will be presented with a detailed outline of the country reports which will augur well for  competition and consumer protection in our region.