Private Sector: ECOWAS Set to Launch a Landmark Regional Business Council.
By Raymond Enoch.
Historic Step Toward Economic Integration as ECOWAS gathers forces to Unveil Private Sector-Led Council
In what insiders are calling a “seismic shift in regional economic collaboration,” the ECOWAS Commission has kicked off a decisive meeting near Nigeria’s capital to finalize the long-anticipated launch of the ECOWAS Business Council (EBC) — a 21-member, private-sector-led body that is set to become the voice of business across West Africa.
The Technical Working Group (TWG) — a coalition of regional experts, private sector champions, and ECOWAS officials — convened on Monday, 8th September 2025, for a weeklong retreat that will cement the final pieces of a project years in the making.
The mission? To craft a formidable business advocacy organ that reflects the vibrant and diverse economic terrain of the ECOWAS member bloc.
Held in a serene, undisclosed location just outside Abuja, the TWG’s agenda is as robust as the ambitions fueling it. From debating the EBC’s governance framework and communication strategy, to scrutinizing its handbook, organogram, and even its proposed logo, the working group is determined to leave no stone unturned.
The Council, slated to launch later this year, aims to institutionalize private sector influence in ECOWAS policy-making, ensuring that the men and women who fuel regional trade and investment are no longer spectators, but stakeholders.
At the opening ceremony, Mrs. Massandje Toure-Litse, ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, emphasized the Commission’s intent to build a council that is broad-based, inclusive, and effective.
“The Commission made deliberate efforts to ensure that the Council is representative of the region’s diverse economic landscape through extensive consultations with the Member States,” she stated, in remarks delivered on her behalf by Dr. Tony Luka Elumelu, Director of the Private Sector Directorate.
From agribusiness to tech startups, cross-border logistics to financial services, the Council’s composition will mirror the economic pulse of West Africa.
“This platform must truly represent the interests of the private sector,” she added, reinforcing ECOWAS’ recognition that private enterprise is the engine room of integration and growth.
Notably, the Council is being designed by private sector leaders, for private sector leaders. The TWG’s deliberations will feed into a follow-up expanded stakeholders meeting, expected to attract business associations, regional trade groups, and international development partners — the very constituencies that will power the EBC’s success.
This second phase aims to harmonize inputs, finalize the transition strategy, and ensure that the Council hits the ground running upon its formal launch later this year.
Observers say the EBC may emerge as a transformational force in ECOWAS’ effort to navigate the post-AfCFTA landscape, enhance regional value chains, and accelerate intra-African trade.
If successful, it could also strengthen regional resilience in the face of global shocks, streamline business policy across borders, and open new doors for public-private dialogue on everything from infrastructure to digitalization.
As the TWG digs into policy documents and strategic frameworks this week, expectations are running high. For a region long beset by trade barriers and fragmented markets, the EBC offers a rare shot at unity — driven not by politics, but by the common currency of commerce.
With its launch looming on the Regional business horizon, all eyes are now on ECOWAS to see whether this bold new structure can live up to its promise: a business-first revolution in regional cooperation.
