Reducing the costs of transport

Transport costs in West Africa are among the highest in the world. The high costs mean that farmers and other producers get lower prices for their goods. They also make imports more expensive. High costs are caused by bribery, delays, high taxes, ineffi­cient procedures and poor infrastructure.

Borderless is tackling the problems…

Borderless partners at the USAID West Africa Trade Hub and Agribusiness and Trade Promotion projects, UEMOA and ALCO – joined by private sector partners – monitor Road Governance to address the problem of bribes and delays that occur at hundreds of checkpoints along primary trade corridors. Read the latest reports on road harassment. Contact info [at] watradehub [dot] com to learn more.

Borderless partners from private sector companies in Burkina Faso and Ghana are working to implement recommendations that could reduce transport costs by half on the Tema-Ouagadougou corridor. Read the study and its recommendations. Contact info [at] watradehub [dot] com to learn more.

Promoting regional integration

Harmonizing the rules of trade across West Africa would decrease the costs of doing business. The ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS) is a set of rules on doing trade – but it is not being implemented uniformly across the region.

Borderless is tackling the problem…

Public and private sector stakeholders participated in an analysis of the problems affecting the implementation of the ETLS. Country-by-country studies have pointed to the solutions. Now stakeholders are working together to implement actions to make the ETLS effective. Read more about the studies here. Contact info [at] watradehub [dot] com at the USAID West Africa Trade Hub to learn more.