<\/p>\n
The project will benefit all eight WAEMU member states: Benin, Burkina Faso, C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire, Guinea\u2011Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. Its objective is to help businesses take advantage of production and trade opportunities while positioning the region more effectively within the AfCFTA market.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A key focus of the initiative will be improving coordination around AfCFTA implementation. National consultations will be held with National AfCFTA Committees in each member state to assess progress and establish operational frameworks. These will be followed by a regional workshop to agree on a shared system for accountability, facilitation and monitoring of the Agreement.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The project will also provide targeted support to 80 small and medium\u2011sized enterprises (SMEs) that are ready to begin exporting. Many of the selected businesses are owned by women and young entrepreneurs. Support will include training of trainers, guidance on export procedures, access to finance, regulatory compliance, adoption of new technologies and sustainable production methods.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
According to Lamin Barrow, Director General of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) for West Africa, the initiative will help align national strategies while strengthening existing regional integration tools.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe project aims to harmonise and align national strategies, leverage complementarities among member states and improve the effectiveness of instruments that promote sub\u2011regional integration,\u201d Barrow said, noting the Bank\u2019s long experience in supporting infrastructure development, trade facilitation and export diversification.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Direct beneficiaries include public institutions responsible for AfCFTA implementation, private sector actors across the Union and the region\u2019s broader population of approximately 147\u202fmillion people. Expected outcomes include improved trade facilitation, reduced trade costs and the creation of sustainable medium\u2011 and long\u2011term trade opportunities.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The project will also reinforce WAEMU\u2019s capacity as a customs union and support the WAEMU Regional Chamber of Commerce in its role as the private sector\u2019s representative within the regional integration process.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–AfDB\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":32083,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[44],"class_list":["post-32082","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"The African Development Fund has approved a $3 million grant to support a regional project aimed at strengthening private sector competitiveness across the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), in a move designed to deepen regional integration and accelerate trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).","published_date":"","news_description":"The African Development Fund has approved a $3 million grant to support a regional project aimed at strengthening private sector competitiveness across the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), in a move designed to deepen regional integration and accelerate trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/32082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/32082\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32084,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/32082\/revisions\/32084"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=32082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}