By Paul Ejime
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Business Startup programme launched in 2021 to celebrate and upscale the high-impact startups, while advancing innovation, digital entrepreneurship and economic integration of the region has continued to generate tremendous interests with about 9,000 submissions and 60 finalists from 12 member States for the top prizes in 2026.
Organised by the ECOWAS Commission, through its Directorate for Private Sector and Industry, and jointly implemented by the Pan-African Alliance of Small and Medium Industries (PAOSMI), and Investment Promotion Agencies of West African States (IPAWAS), the programme spotlights home-grown solutions with the potential to transform businesses, create opportunities and accelerate regional integration.
In addition to the total US$65,000 prize money at stake at the 2nd Edition the top three winners of the competition under the theme: “Scaling West African Startups for Digital Transformation, Regional Integration and Sustainable Value Chain Ecosystem Development to drive Market Access,” this year, could also generate five million US dollars in investment opportunities through the deal room.
HubPharm Africa, a Nigerian company specialising in health innovation, received the star prize of US$30,000 during the Awards, held 21-30 September in Abuja, Nigeria. Gaynako, from Senegal, came second and took home US$20,000, while My Opinion, from Côte d’Ivoire, received US$15,000 for third place.
Muhammad Marong from The Gambia and Afrikan Coders from Cabo Verde make up the five finalists.
The first edition of the awards, held in Niamey, Niger, in 2021, featured 55 entries from 11 member States, with Olivier Biley from Côte d’Ivoire emerging first for his “resourcefulness in the digitalisation of agriculture through the creation of a complete and integrated ecosystem using the drone.”
This year’s programme featured Virtual Masterclass, high-energy Pitching, exhibition, and others, connecting the startups with investors, business leaders and development partners in six strategic sectors, including FinTech, HealthTech, AgriTech and Food Systems, EdTech and Skills Development, CleanTech. The other sectors are Climate and Green Innovation, and Tourism, Hospitality and Travel Tech.
Opening the event, Senator John Owan Enoh, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Industry, emphasised that “the long-term sustainability of businesses will depend on their ability to build productive capacity, create quality employment, access new markets, meet applicable standards and compete effectively over time.”
Presenting the trophy and cheques on behalf of the President of the ECOWAS Commission, (rtd) General Birame Diop, the Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Dehpue Zuo, said the awards “represented much more than just financial competition,” adding: “Each laureate has a unique story…”
“This will convey a message of inclusion and fairness for all. I encourage other young companies to address global needs for human health and development,” the Commissioner affirmed.
In his welcome address, Ambassador Gautier Mignot, Head of the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, noted that “ECOWAS integration efforts and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) offer an important framework for expanding markets, reducing barriers and creating new opportunities for African companies, including startups and SMEs.”
“This is very much aligned with the European Union’s partnership with ECOWAS. To the startups participating today, I would like to say clearly: the European Union does not see you simply as beneficiaries of programmes. We see you as partners in West Africa’s economic transformation,” the senior EU official said.
“Your success will not be measured only by the awards you receive today, but by your ability to build sustainable businesses, create jobs, attract investment, enter new markets, and develop solutions that respond to the needs of citizens and communities across the region,” he added.
He reiterated the European Union’s commitment “to supporting ECOWAS and its Member States in strengthening the conditions that allow entrepreneurship to thrive. This includes support for competitiveness, trade, digital transformation and a more enabling environment for business development, as well as the policy and institutional frameworks that help enterprises move from idea, to registration, to growth, and to expansion across the region and beyond.”
Dr Mark Mattner, Cluster Coordinator, ECOWAS Cluster, GIZ Nigeria and ECOWAS, commended the ECOWAS Commission for the advancement of ECOWAS Vision 2050, and also congratulated the 60 startups selected from more than 9,000 submissions.
He said, “the significance of these Awards goes beyond recognising promising individual businesses,” and quoted a 2022 study by the African Union Commission and OECD, citing the ITC, which found that 91% of transactional marketplaces examined in Africa operated only nationally. In other words, innovative businesses may emerge locally without becoming regional businesses.
Dr Mattner praised ECOWAS for adopting “important building blocks” to improve trade in services in West Africa, including the Common Investment Code (ECOWIC), noting that under the leadership of the ECOWAS Commission, “GIZ supports this agenda through the Trade in Services Programme West Africa, co-financed by the European Union and BMZ,” which coordinates the development cooperation of the Federal Republic of Germany.
“Africa has no shortage of ideas. Let us work together to turn these ideas into a deeper regional economic integration, a more competitive region, decent jobs and a bright economic future for ECOWAS,” he added.
Natasha Akioye, National Coordinator for the International Trade Centre (ITC), Nigeria, said the Centre, as a joint technical cooperation agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization (WTO), had “developed a strong and longstanding partnership with the ECOWAS Commission.”
“We work across the world, with a particular focus on developing countries and regions, supporting governments and the private sector to create the conditions in which businesses can grow, trade and create sustainable economic opportunities… (and we are) …dedicated to helping businesses, particularly micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, strengthen their competitiveness, connect to markets, trade successfully and integrate into regional and global value chains.”
In his welcome address, Peter Oluonye, Acting Director, ECOWAS Private Sector and Industry, told the winners that the Commission would monitor how they used the winnings.
“One of the things we’re going to do is, we’ve given you cheques, but we’re going to trace the money,” he said, and outlined three initiatives to support the startups beyond the awards.
These are through the ECOWAS Private Sector Development Academy, an online learning academy that would train startups in managerial skills, investor preparation, and fundraising techniques; the ECOWAS Startup Network; and access to financing, venture capital and the investor network.
He thanked the partners, including GIZ, ITC, Ecobank, and the innovation hubs that supported the awards.
Mrs Tope Kareem, co-founder and Managing Director of HubPharm Africa, said the competition had opened doors to partnerships and investors.
She assured that “We (at HubPharm) can be present through collaboration and partnerships,” adding: “Yesterday, I was talking with a Guinean start-up colleague and I can clearly see how we can establish ourselves in Guinea without HubPharm being present there.”
Mrs Kareem, a health technology entrepreneur with over 13 years’ experience in retail pharmacy operations, supply chain management and patient services, is a graduate of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Nigeria.
She said that she and her team, led by HubPharm founder, Mr Sesan Kareem, “manage clinical operations and drug supply chain that support more than 10,200 patients with chronic diseases in Nigeria and 11 other countries.”
ECOWAS was set up in May 1975 through the Treaty of Lagos to foster regional integration. It boasts an estimated population of more than 300 million citizens and combined integrated economic activities with GDP estimated at US$734.8 billion, revolving around, but not limited to, industry, transport, telecommunications, energy, agriculture, natural resources, commerce, monetary and financial issues, social as well as cultural affairs.
Despite Africa’s business and investment potential backed by several regional instruments, including the ECOWAS 1979 Protocol on free movement of persons, goods and services, residence and establishment, and the ECOWAS Trade Liberation Scheme ETLS, intra-African trade, which is largely informal, still hovers around 15%.
To leverage the benefits of the AfCFTA and leapfrog continental industrialisation, Africa’s eight Regional Economic Communities (RECs), including ECOWAS, should formalise and prioritise internal trade through opportunities in digital technologies and enhanced development cooperation.
According to the organisers of the ECOWAS Business Startups, the “Awards go beyond a competition to create a lasting regional platform for entrepreneurship and innovation. A key legacy will be the ECOWAS Private Sector Development Academy, a permanent digital learning platform designed to strengthen the capabilities of startups, entrepreneurs, and policymakers in enterprise development, trade, and competitiveness.”
“With support from partners, including ITC, GIZ, ASKY airline, UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization), and the Bank of Industry of Nigeria, ECOWAS is working to turn West Africa’s entrepreneurial energy into scalable enterprises, stronger regional value chains and greater access to markets across the region and beyond,” they affirmed.
The planned launch of the long-delayed ECOWAS single currency, ECO in 2027, is expected to facilitate Monetary Union and boost business and trading activities in West Africa and beyond.
Africa’s estimated 1.6 billion people must feel the positive impact of the policies and programmes of their governments and the continent’s eight Regional Economic Communities (RECs), through good governance, economic growth and development for prosperity.
Paul Ejime is a Global Affairs Analyst & Consultant on Strategic Governance Communications.
