Enhancing the quality of informal cross-border trade in the Economic Community of West African States

Abstract

The African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank) launched a joint one-year pilot project to collect data on informal cross-border trade along the Abidjan– Lagos corridor in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The African Union Commission and the ECOWAS Commission served as key project partners and the Eastern Africa Grain Council was identified as the lead project implementation partner. The ECA-Afreximbank pilot project had four main objectives: 1. Develop a harmonized gender-disaggregated informal cross-border trade data collection methodology for the ECOWAS region 2. Test and execute the harmonized informal cross-border trade data collection methodology on a pilot basis in the ECOWAS region 3. Prepare evidence-based policy recommendations on how to create more structured systems for informal cross-border trade with a view to supporting formalization in the medium to long term 4. Build awareness of the importance of institutionalizing informal cross-border trade data collection in the ECOWAS region.