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Abuja, 30th November 2016 . ECOWAS senior officials have on the 29th November 2016, validated the report of the study on the Market Analysis and the Business Model of the ECOWAS Wide Area Network (ECOWAN) Project.

As a strategic priority of the region, the report which encompasses the building of synergies with information technology, will help to foster greater integration and development within a peaceful and democratic environment.

ECOWAN was launched by the regional group to engender the sharing of critical information in aid of better productivity of the Member States as well as Institutions and Agencies of the region.

During the two-Day meeting, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Telecommunication and Information Technology Dr. Isaias Barreto Olimpio da Rosa referred delegates to the ECOWAS vision 2020 which is meant to create a West Africa without borders, and a region that is competitive in all areas of economic activity, with the free movement of citizens, goods and services.1

He said the ICT sector has been identified not only as an indispensable tool for achieving this vision, but also one that impacts “our way of working, interacting with others, an essential factor for competitiveness and productivity, and accelerating Knowledge and information sharing”

According to the Commissioner, it was to ensure an efficient implementation of the project, that ECOWAS Ministers in charge of Telecommunications / ICT adopted a governance and management structure

On his part, the chairman of Session and deputy minister, ministry of Posts & Telecom, Republic of Liberia, Hon Zotawon Titus noted that the delegates have been assembled to perform a very significant task for the region. He stressed the importance of the validation of the study that will provide the next step to putting in place an ECOWAN.4

The validation exercise, he stressed, will address “a part of the infrastructural gap that continues to affect the sustainable development that continues to affect the ICT sector across the region” whereas, the goal is to build a connected ECOWAS as a people of one destiny.

Noting that studies have shown that with the ICT infrastructure in place, applications and services can easily become available, efficient and responsive, he disclosed that the ECOWAS Heads of state expects delegates to make interventions where required in enhancing its context, content and strategic alignment of the project as well as its applicability.

During the meeting, there were presentations by Africa Analysis of various themes such as ICT socio-economic benefits and regulatory analysis, ECOWAN Business Model as well as on the establishment of the ECOWAN Project Implementation Unit (PIU)

Before the report was validated, the delegates scrutinized the draft final report of the study while making appropriate proposals and recommendations to facilitate the implementation of ECOWAN project. They also discussed the institutional framework and more specifically the implementation unit of the ECOWAN Project.

ECOWAN is a governance platform linking the institutions of ECOWAS, its affiliated organizations and member states. It aims to facilitate communication within the West African community by providing voice, data and video services. Among others, it is meant to also provide secure and reliable means for the transfer of sensitive data

Partners who have been supporting ECOWAS since the project was launched include the African Development Bank, the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA) and the Islamic Development Bank.