The federal government of Nigeria has called for investments in ports and digital platforms to help cross-border businesses across West African countries.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs. Jumoke Oduwole, disclosed this on Friday while delivering the opening keynote address at the ongoing 2-day West Africa Economic Summit (WAES) 2025, currently being held in Abuja and attended by Nairametrics.
The call comes days after the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) announced the establishment of Export Process Terminals (EPTs) to streamline and simplify the process of exporting Nigerian goods.
Mr Asuquo Okon, Principal Manager, Tariff and Billing at NPA, had explained that the EPTs were designed to function as a one-stop shop for cargo consolidation, stuffing, documentation, packaging, certification, and shipment via an electronic call-up system to the ports.
West African Markets
Addressing the audience on Friday on the topic, “One Market, One Future…Building Scalable Industries Across Borders,” Oduwole said that today, West African businesses, especially MSMEs, still face high costs at the border, inconsistent duties, and bureaucracy, particularly on goods that do not qualify under the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme.
She stressed that these obstacles make it even more attractive to trade globally than with West African neighbors.
She urged her African counterparts to “support businesses not only to survive, but to grow across borders, which means investing in infrastructure, ports, logistics corridors, and digital platforms that enable seamless trade.”
“Access to finance, especially for women- and youth-led enterprises that are often excluded from credit systems, is crucial.
“ Trade intelligence and data are needed to help producers understand regional demand, pricing, and market opportunities,” she added.
She mentioned that harmonization of standards across the region and the continent will boost investment attraction and competitiveness, while regional consistency will give investors confidence that rules will not change with every border crossing.
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- She highlighted that the vision of “one market” for Africa is not simply an ideal, but a necessity, requiring the breaking down of tariff and non-tariff barriers that continue to hinder the movement of goods, services, and people.
“Inter-African trade accounts for under 20% of Africa’s total trade, compared to 58% in Asia and 67% in Europe. In West Africa specifically, trade among countries remains under 10%, despite shared borders, language clusters, decades of integration efforts, and initiatives.
“Achieving one market requires harmonizing product standards to unlock cross-border supply chains, aligning customs procedures to reduce delays and corruption, and investing in digital platforms for predictable and paperless trade processes,” she said.
She assured that the Federal Government of Nigeria has been fully committed to the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme and the ECOWAS Common External Tariff by working with member states and neighbors to accelerate the implementation of preferential tariff regimes under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
“In April 2025, following Mr. President’s approval, we gazetted our provisional schedule of tariff concessions for trading goods under the AfCFTA framework,” she added.
Under the bold leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nigeria is repositioning itself as a premier destination for long-term investment, in alignment with the core pillar of the recently adopted AfCFTA Protocol on Investment, she added.
”We have moved with speed and courage to implement most of the ambitious fiscal, monetary, and trade policy reforms in recent history—from full subsidy removals and exchange rate unification, to implementing AfCFTA protocols, to institutional strengthening and fiscal coordination. These reforms are yielding results,” she maintained.
She said that while investor interest is returning, with over USD50 billion in tracked investment interest since May 2023, there is renewed attention on sectors that provide scale, returns, and long-term value.
On her part, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu, encouraged stakeholders to engage fully with concrete outcomes that will advance trade and investment across West Africa.
She said the task before the region now is to safeguard the regional bloc and drive the expansion of industries through far-sighted integration policies and reforms.
What You Should Know
WAES 2025 is an initiative of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, implemented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, envisioned to serve as a high-level platform for strategic dialogue and regional cooperation.
With the theme, “Unlocking Trade and Investment Opportunities in the Region,” the Summit aims to deepen economic cooperation, facilitate cross-border investment, and accelerate sustainable development across key sectors such as trade, energy, agriculture, infrastructure, digital finance, and regional integration.
The summit will climax on Saturday with the gathering of Heads of State and Government, senior policymakers, business leaders, development institutions, and youth innovators from across the West African sub-region.
