Policymakers and business leaders from across West Africa have opened a regional trade summit in Accra with a shared diagnosis: intra-regional commerce remains far below its potential, and without structural reforms to logistics, financing, and border management, the promise of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will remain largely unrealised.
The 2026 Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FEWACCI) Summit, organised by the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI), brought together public and private sector delegates under the theme: “Unlocking West Africa’s Economic Potential through Trade, Investment, Logistics, and Youth Development.”
Speakers placed intra-regional trade figures at between 10 and 12 percent of total Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) commerce, a figure they said exposed deep structural barriers to integration despite years of policy commitments.
Deputy Trade Minister Sampson Ahi said liberalisation efforts must be matched by concrete measures to strengthen small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) capacity and eliminate inefficiencies across production, certification, and transport systems, warning that trade agreements alone would not deliver results without complementary investment in productive capacity.
Dr. Kamal-Deen Ali, Director-General of the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA), said logistics infrastructure was the critical link between trade agreements and real economic outcomes, and pointed to ongoing port efficiency and connectivity projects as part of efforts to close the gap between policy intent and operational reality.
Harriet Gayi of TradeMark Africa said the sub-region’s trade potential remained largely untapped and called for targeted reforms to reduce border delays, lower transaction costs, and ensure that youth- and women-led enterprises are included in regional value chains rather than bypassed by them.
Chief of Staff Julius Debrah, who also addressed the summit, urged business associations including the Association of Ghana Industries and the GNCCI to deepen their role in advocacy and investment mobilisation as the government pursues deeper regional integration alongside its domestic economic transformation agenda.
