More than $400 million in investment commitments have been unlocked following the just-concluded West Africa Economic Summit (WAES) in Abuja, according to Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite.
The funding, which cuts across agriculture, logistics, renewable energy, and digital technology, signals a major step toward accelerating regional economic growth and integration.
“These investments represent not just capital inflows but long-term partnerships aimed at transforming sectors that are critical to our shared prosperity,” Uzoka-Anite said during the summit.
Describing the outcome as a “resounding vote of confidence” in the region’s economic direction and Nigeria’s role in shaping it, she noted that many of the deals were sealed in closed-door meetings between local and international partners.
According to her, the breakthrough was made possible by Nigeria’s reform-driven business environment and the collaborative policy engagement across ECOWAS member states.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who delivered the keynote address at the summit, made a powerful call for deeper economic coordination in the region.
“We must coordinate or collapse,” he declared. “In today’s global economy, fragmented markets are disadvantaged markets. West Africa must begin to think, act, and grow together.”
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The President criticised the region’s dependence on exporting raw commodities, describing the approach as a “pit-to-port” model that has continued to drain economic value.
“For too long, we have dug our wealth and shipped it out raw, only to buy it back at ten times the price,” he said. “That cycle must end. We must now refine, manufacture and add value right here in Africa.”
He laid out a six-point strategy to guide West Africa’s transformation: industrialisation, youth empowerment, infrastructure development, institutional reform, private sector engagement, and digital inclusion.
“We need to build value chains that cut across borders,” he said. “If Ghana grows the cocoa, Nigeria processes it, and Côte d’Ivoire packages it, we all win.
That’s the vision.” Tinubu also warned against the tendency to allow summits to end without action.
“This must not be another talk show. We must implement, we must coordinate, and we must deliver. West Africa’s time is now and history will not forgive inaction,” he said.
Held under the theme “Reimagining Economic Integration for Shared Prosperity,” the summit drew policymakers, business leaders, and development partners from across the region.
Key conversations focused on eliminating trade barriers, expanding intra-African commerce, and strengthening infrastructure across West Africa to fast-track inclusive growth.
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