Chairman of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has emerged the pioneer Chairperson of the ECOWAS Business Council (EBC), a new, independent platform being launched by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to empower the private sector, boost regional trade, foster investment, and drive economic integration by bridging the gap between businesses and policymakers across West Africa.
President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Alieu Toura, announced the decision on Wednesday at the opening of the 95th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers meeting in Abuja. Touray disclosed that Dangote, Africa’s richest man, to be the pioneer Chairperson of the Council in view of his vast experience doing business within the West African subregion and across Africa.
The official launch of the Business Council has reached advanced stage. It will serve as the primary voice for West African businesses, influencing policy and promoting cross-border growth in alignment with ECOWAS’s regional development goals.
Touray disclosed that through the Council, ECOWAS hooes to bring the private sector actors around the table to discuss economic integration and development of the region.
“In this regard, he nited, the Business Council will facilitate dialogue and partnership between the private sector, governments, and ECOWAS institutions.
“I am happy to note that already, the idea of promoting intra-regional investment is gaining traction in our Member States.
“This year alone, we have seen a number of Economic Investment Fora, such as the Forum Senegal Invest, the West African Economic Summit in Nigeria, the Invest in District Savanes” forum in Cote d’Ivoire, among others.
“We have also received proposal from the Republic of Sierra Leone for organisation of a West Africa Economic Investment Summit.
“This appetite for intra-regional investment underscores the need to mobilise capital within our region in order to build our Community rather than wait for precarious foreign investments.
“I am confident that with the kind of investments we have seen from the likes of Alhaji Dangote, our regional private sector actors can lead the way in the development of our Community, if given the right incentives and opportunity,” he said.
Touray expressed hope that the deliberations on the various items on the agenda of meeting will pave the way for a region that is self-sufficient, free from external control and vulnerability to external economic shocks.
Key issues slated for deliberations at the meeting include , the annual work programme and budget of the Community institutions, the financial situation of the Community, the status of implementation of the Community levy protocol, as well as reports of the Auditor General of ECOWAS Institutions and the Audit Committee.
With regard to the integration programme, the Council of Ministers will be we will receive and deliberate on memoranda on regional resilience, monetary integration, resource mobilization for the activation of the regional force for countering terrorism, as well as, the resolution of the Board of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development, among others.
Also slated for discussions are memoranda on the status of implementation of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme, including the work of the Task Force on the ETLS, as well as the Memorandum on the ECOWAS single currency programme.
The Council will also be briefed on the financial situation of the West African Power Pool, the flagship regional electricity market platform that is currently facing challenges on account of debts owed by national electricity companies.
