Read the TFWA Program Impacts Factsheet

About the TFWA Program

The Trade Facilitation West Africa (TFWA) Program is an initiative driven by multiple development partners that aims to improve existing trade facilitation measures in West Africa. The program strives to reduce the time and cost of trade borne by the private sector, especially by improving the movement of goods along selected corridors, and supporting small-scale traders – including women and other key stakeholders – with trade facilitation reforms and programs.

The TFWA Program brings together key development partners, including European Union, USAID, Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and Government of the Federal Republic of Germany to support countries in the region and regional bodies (the ECOWAS and UEMOA Commissions) in the implementation of a combination of targeted interventions and measures. The TFWA Program is managed by the World Bank Group and the German Development Cooperation Agency (GIZ) – the program’s implementing partners – with strategic oversight and guidance provided by a Steering Committee, chaired by the ECOWAS Commission and supported by the UEMOA Commission as deputy chair.

OBJECTIVE

The TFWA Program aims to improve the free and efficient movement of goods in the region and internationally by reducing the time and cost of trade borne by the private sector in West Africa, and by strengthening regional trading networks’ ability to take advantage of these improvements.

Specifically, the program aims to achieve this objective by:

Improving trade facilitation measures in West Africa and implementing them

more efficiently

Improving the movement of goods along selected corridors

Reducing barriers for small-scale traders and other key stakeholders, especially women,
with trade facilitation reforms and programs

PROGRAM SCOPE

The TFWA Program is a five-year initiative (September 2018 – June 2023) and benefits from a total of $75 million in funding.

GOVERNANCE

The TFWA Program is managed by the World Bank Group and the German Development Cooperation Agency (GIZ) – the program's implementing partners – with strategic oversight and guidance provided by a Steering Committee, chaired by the ECOWAS Commission and supported by the UEMOA Commission as vice chair.

NEWS & EVENTS

TFWA Program launches two new videos

As more and more activities take place across the sub-region, two videos were produced to expand awareness and increase TFWA Program visibility with key stakeholders and the wider public. The first video offers a high-level overview of National Trade Facilitation Committees (NTFCs), explaining what they are and why they are an important part of trade facilitation. The second video highlights results from key data gathered in the TFWA Program’s 2019 survey of small-scale cross-border traders (SSCBTs) along project corridors. Click below to watch the videos and learn more about our work.

National Trade Facilitation Committees (NTFC)

Small-scale Cross-border Trade in West Africa

TFWA PROGRAM COVID-19 UPDATE

Despite challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, many TFWA Program activities continue to move forward. Team members are working from home to support governments and promote trade facilitation in the region.

In addition to adapting to new working conditions, the TFWA Program team has been sharing sectoral-level guidance in response to the current realities presented by COVID-19. Many ports and borders in the region have closed, and those that continue to operate are facing a number of new challenges. Considering the quickly changing situation along trade routes, the World Bank, a TFWA Program co-implementing partner, developed a guidance note on facilitating trade during the pandemic as well as a Trade and COVID-19 hub, providing program stakeholders with important trade-related information during the pandemic.