ECOWAS Highlights Benin SME Model and Accelerates Women’s Political Leadership

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) announced that Benin will serve as a regional benchmark for supporting micro, small and medium enterprises. The ECOWAS Parliament highlighted reforms such as the 2020 SME law, the 2022 creation of the Agency for the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises, and funding programmes totalling over 22 billion CFA francs to bolster entrepreneurship across member states.

In a separate two‑day forum in Abuja, ECOWAS launched an initiative to strengthen women’s political leadership. The commission’s vice‑president called the presidential declaration on gender representation a historic commitment and outlined a roadmap toward the 2035 agenda for parity. Attendees, including Nigeria’s Minister of Women’s Affairs Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman‑Ibrahim and Senator Chantal Fanny, pledged legislative reforms and institutional measures to increase women’s participation in decision‑making bodies throughout West Africa.