West Africa Integration Summit Shifts From Advocacy to Capital Mobilisation

Leaders from across the region gathered in Lagos to confirm that the West Africa integration summit will shift from discussion to concrete capital mobilisation ahead of the November meeting in Sierra Leone. President Julius Maada Bio and Tony O. Elumelu co‑chaired the advisory board session with the support of Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo‑Olu. The board includes the largest industrial conglomerates, energy and mining firms, and development finance institutions from across the region.

President Bio described the initiative as a platform to consolidate a regional market of more than four hundred million people. He stressed that West Africa integration requires turning ideas into partnerships, partnerships into investments, and investments into lasting prosperity for the continent. The president called on the advisory board to engage prospective investors directly and to match them with viable projects before the summit.

Tony Elumelu, co‑chair of the board, said the president wants his ECOWAS chairmanship to be effective and has mobilised private sector leaders one by one. He added that the private sector is happy political leaders are bringing them together so they can be more effective and create jobs for young people across West Africa integration. The board committed to mobilising capital alongside institutions such as Africa Finance Corporation, Afreximbank, Africa50, and the Central Bank of West African States.

Special envoy Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella reported that the board received one hundred seventy project submissions and selected twenty six projects worth more than ten billion dollars from over ten countries. He said the portfolio is expected to reach fifteen billion dollars or more by the Freetown summit and that tracking investment flows will continue beyond the event. This approach demonstrates a commitment to West Africa integration that moves beyond a single gathering into sustained project development.

Africa Finance Corporation chief Samaila Zubairu said the convergence of energy security, food security, minerals and demographics makes integration the key to unlocking the market and pledged to sustain the initiative beyond the summit. United Bank for Africa chief Oliver Alawuba noted that the Dangote Refinery was financed by Nigerian and regional banks and that UBA stands ready to mobilise resources for bankable projects across West Africa integration. Dangote Group economist Mahmud Hassan stressed that power remains the binding constraint on industrialisation and that a regional power corridor financed by domestic capital will link value chains across borders.

Governor Sanwo‑Olu thanked the president and the co‑chair for driving the initiative and stressed that governments must provide policy certainty, regulatory efficiency and security to give investors confidence for long term capital commitment. He said the role of political leaders is to create an environment where business to business transactions can flourish and that the region is ready for business. The meeting reinforced a shared conviction that West Africa integration can become one of the world’s fast‑growing economic regions if the November summit delivers transactions rather than declarations.