When 16 CEOs pledged in November to join the Borderless Alliance and put the weight of their leading regional companies behind efforts to increase trade, they were motivated by the high stakes involved: West Africa’s steady economic growth which averaged 4.7% per annum over the past decade has lifted millions out of poverty – but that progress could be lost if the region does not improve its business environment.

Moreover, West Africa’s farmers and manufacturers could lose out to global producers, if they are not able to improve their economies of scale and competitiveness which access to a larger regional market would promote.

CEOs agreed as did Ghana’s Minister of Trade and Industry.

“The Borderless Alliance will provide a platform for the development of strategic partnerships that will lead to the building of a borderless West Africa,” said the minister’s representative, Chief Director Mii Amsah-Adjay. “Harmonizing the rules of trade across West Africa would decrease the costs of doing business and promote regional integration.”

Roadblocks – both real and figurative – to regional trade pose a distinct threat to West Africa’s economic growth – and ability to sustain the lives of its more than 300 million citizens.

“A company that moves goods from Abidjan to Lagos will be exposed to a basket of up to 35 different formal and informal fees along the corridor,” explained Peter White, an international trade expert and advisor to the USAID Trade Hub, during the Alliance workshop in Accra, Ghana. “That type of red tape is simply choking off trade. Given the demographic trends in West Africa, this is a truly critical time for everyone in the region – this has to be resolved.”

“West Africa is on the cusp of unprecedented economic growth,” he continued. “This is really a window of opportunity. West African countries need to seize this opportunity – or they may miss it.”

The opportunities for investment are significant. West Africa’s population is on track to double by 2050. By 2030,  Africa-wide will have more than 50 cities with more than one million people. The urban market is set to increase four-fold over the next 20 years. A growing and aspiring middle class will reach 50 million households by 2020, seeking improved selection and quality of consumer goods and food.

In a study conducted for the USAID Trade Hub, White identified a number of recommendations, including:
•    Private and Public Sectors need to work as partners to facilitate access to markets and trade.
•    States need to encourage, not discourage, regional investment.
•    Member States need to encourage implementation of ETLS and promote private investment.

A regional Borderless Alliance meeting of stakeholders is the next order of business, the CEOs agreed at the end of the meeting. To that end, the Alliance has issued a call for proposals to host the regional event.

“The very fact that the stakeholders are sitting together in this room to discuss these issues and develop an action plan is a testament to the hard work of many people, including the USAID Trade Hub,” said Richard Burns of EXP Social Media. Burns provided an overview of advocacy to frame the Alliance’s next steps.

Companies have clearly heard the call.

“The working environment in Africa is improving day-to-day,” said the CEO of a major producer of vegetable oils in Benin. “Our company has a very positive view about the country’s improving investment climate.  Most countries have started late but some are making progress.”

Still, the opportunities are mitigated by stark realities, cautioned  one investor.

“While there appear to be many interesting investment opportunities, these may not be as many as you think,” he said. “You may think that you have reached a deal but at the end of the day, this may unravel over poor corporate governance issues or poor implementation of country or regional policies.”

Another looked to broader societal issues with an ominous tone.

“Now is the right time to invest – West Africa is virgin territory for agricultural investment,” he said. “But, the region also faces a time bomb, if it does not get its food situation sorted out and meet the aspirations of its youth.”

But overall, stakeholders were optimistic and clear on the way forward: bring the private and public sectors together on a common platform, the Borderless Alliance.

“The issue is not whether we will expand in the sub-region but how to best organize it,” one said in a comment echoed by others. “Some governments are sending out strong feelers. The challenge is to get traction and align private and public sector interests.”