The ECOWAS Parliament has called for sanctions against member states that fail to implement agreed-upon policies supporting Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), declaring that the regional bloc’s primary challenge is weak enforcement rather than a lack of legislation. The call was made during a Joint Committee meeting of the ECOWAS Parliament held in Cotonou, Republic of Benin, focused on trade facilitation, regulatory reforms, and business formalization across West Africa. Addressing parliamentarians, Dr. Tony Luka Elumelu of the ECOWAS Business Council Secretariat emphasized that West Africa already possesses comprehensive legal frameworks, protocols, and the regional MSME Charter to support enterprise development, noting that what is required now is to implement what has already been adopted, enforce existing regulations, and eliminate bottlenecks preventing MSMEs from thriving. He warned that non-compliance, heavy bureaucracy, and unnecessary trade barriers; such as excessive highway checkpoints undermine West Africa’s ability to compete under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), while urging regional governments to prioritize infrastructure investments and establish strict implementation timelines for ECOWAS agreements. Echoing these concerns, Alhagie Darbo, Co-Chairperson of the Joint Committee, highlighted the urgent need to support the region’s informal sector, pointing out that across ECOWAS member states, informal businesses account for roughly 90% of economic activity and employ at least 60% of the workforce. While this demonstrates the entrepreneurial spirit of the region, Darbo noted that it also underscores the imperative to create enabling policies that encourage formalization, improve productivity, and integrate MSMEs into regional and continental value chains. Building on this, Dr. Olalekan Afolabi, Principal Programme Officer for Enterprise and Business Promotion at the ECOWAS Commission, encouraged lawmakers to assist in domesticating regional treaties into national law and pointed to the European Union-funded €50 million African Trade Competitiveness and Market Access Programme as a critical tool for boosting market access and strengthening local enterprises. Speaking on behalf of the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Hadja Memounatou Ibrahima, Second Deputy Speaker Adjaratou Traore Coulibaly stressed that empowering MSMEs particularly those led by women and youth is vital for broader regional stability, as economic opportunity directly counters insecurity. Ultimately, lawmakers concluded that enforcing regional trade rules and removing cross-border constraints remain essential steps to tackling economic hardship and driving sustainable development across West Africa.
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