Odimmegwa Johnpeter/Abuja
The Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States on Monday, July 27, 2026 commenced a delocalized meeting of its Joint Committee on Industry and Private Sector, Macroeconomic Policy and Economic Research, Administration, Finance and Budget, Public Accounts.
The 5-day meeting in Cotonou, Republic of Benin has the theme; ‘Empowering MSMEs as Formal Drivers of ECOWAS Regional Value Chains’
According to the programme of the meeting, day one which is the opening welcomes speeches from; Head of the Benin Delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament, Chairman of the Joint Committee, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Republic of Benin, Minister of Economy and Finance, Republic of Benin, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, In charge of Technical Training and Minister, Ministry of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Employment Promotion, responsible for Vocational Training, Republic of Benin.
Others are; Minister of Interior and Public Security, Speaker of the Parliament of the
Republic of Benin and Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament.
After the opening, the meeting moves into Technical Session with three presentations on; Operationalising WACOMP, the ECOWAS Business Council and ECOSHAM to Formalise MSMEs and Integrate them into the Regional Value Chain – ECOWAS Commission, Directorate of Industry and Private Sector Promotion.
Second presentation focuses on; Industrial Clusters, Infrastructure and MSME Integration into ECOWAS Regional Value Chain – Representative, Ministry of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Employment Promotion, responsible for Vocational Training, Republic of Benin.
And the third and final presentation for the day is on; Trade Facilitation, Regulatory Reforms and Formalisation and the resource person is, the Former Acting Director, Industry and Private Sector,
ECOWAS Commission, Abuja, Dr. Tony Elumelu.
Day two is planned to have three presentations and a Panel Discussion. The first presentation is on, Unlocking Financial and Digital Innovation for Competitiveness and Cross-Border Trade, with CSR and ESG Expert; Sustainability and Governance Consultant, Ms. Emmanuelle A. S. VLAVONOU as the Resource Person.
Presentation two is on, Financing the Missing Middle: Practical Instruments for MSME Growth, Export Readiness and Regional Payment Systems, ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID).
Presentation three is on, Standards, Certification, and Quality Infrastructure as Enablers of MSME Access to Regional Markets, with Badarou, Senior QHSE Auditor, Mr. ANTAR-Cassir Shola as the Resource Person.
Panel discussion which is to be moderated by Mr. Ozias sounouvo has the topic; Integrating MSMEs into Formal ECOWAS Regional Value Chains: Finance, Digital Transformation, Standards and Regional Market Access.
Panelists are; Representative, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Republic of Benin, Representative, ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), Former Acting Director, Industry and Private Sector, ECOWAS Commission, Abuja, • Dr. Tony Elumelu.
Others are; Trainer and Compliance Auditor, Ms. Claudia Stella G. NOUTAIS and International Trade Consultant and Market Access Specialist, Mr. Florent KPATINDE.
Day three is Parliamentary Field Visit where lawmakers shall be engaging with MSMEs and it shall be on, Investment climate and access to regional finance, Labour dynamics and free movement of persons, Compliance with and utilisation of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) and Product standardisation and technical harmonization, Digital transformation, regional payments and market access.
Fourth day is about Town Hall with Private Sector and Business Community with the theme; Building Practical Pathways for MSMEs and Businesses to Participate in the Formal ECOWAS Regional Value Chain, and it shall be moderated by Mr. Ozias Sounouvo.
The Town Hall has the following focus areas; Barriers to formalisation and cross-border trade, Access to regional finance and practical support for export readiness, Use of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS), Product standards, certification and technical harmonization, Digital payments, logistics, taxation and customs procedures and Concerns of women-led, youth-led and informal businesses seeking regional market access.
There shall also be interactive exchanges between Parliamentarians and stakeholders.
Day five which is the last day of the delocalized meeting is programmed to be consideration and adoption of the draft report.
The meeting coming at a time when every region of the world is aiming to strengthen their MSMEs for it to be able to meet emerging economic challenges, promises to adopt robust strategies that will not only be beneficial to the host nation but the sub-region as a whole.
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