There are 15 countries in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS): Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. ECOWAS works to promote co-operation in the region on a range of economic and political issues including conflict resolution.

The countries of West Africa have a population of 245 million. About 65 percent of them live in rural areas.

Eight countries in the region (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo) are members of the West Africa Economy and Monetary Union (WAEMU) and share a common currency, a common central bank, a development bank, a regional stock exchange and a common banking regulator.

The region’s economic growth has averaged only 2.5 percent during the past three years while its population has been growing by 2.2 percent a year. It is estimated that economic growth of about 6-7 percent a year would be required to meet the goal of cutting extreme poverty in half by 2030.

Marry this with with the vast and untapped economic potentials of the region, clearly there are several things to do look inward and generate and build her own wealth reserves.

At the West Africa Trade and Investment Conference, several strategies will be explored to further unlock wealth in the region and promote existing projects. Specifically, this event serves as an aggregation of the finest projects, thought leaders, opportunities, networks, and linkages.

Expected participants include:

- Multilateral Agencies

- Government Officials,

- Corporate Leaders

- Trade Professionals

- Community Leaders

- Executive Directors

- Major Donors/Funders

- Entrepreneurs,

- Innovators

- Start-ups and MSMEs and

- Senior Staff/Board Members