Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS. Africa

Course summary (Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS))

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS CEDEAO) is a regional Group of fifteen countries, founded in 1975. Its mission is to promote economic integration in "all fields of economic activity, particularly industry, transport, telecommunications, energy, agriculture, Natural resources, commerce, monetary and financial questions, social and cultural matters ....."

Example of the course Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS):

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) members: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo.

The institutions of the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) are as follows:

- The Commission
- The community Parliament
- The community Court OF Justice
- ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID)

The ECOWAS Commission and the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development, more often called The Fund are its two main institutions designed to implement policies, pursue a number of programmes and carry out development projects in member states.

ECOWAS member states occupy a surface area of 1.5 million km2, representing 17% of the total surface area of the continent. The countries with the largest land mass are Niger (24.8%) and Mali (24.3%) whilst the country with the smallest is Cabo Verde (0.1%).

The population of West Africa which grows at an annual rate of 2.67% was estimated at 261.13 million in 2006. Nigeria is the most populous country in the regions with a population of 134.38 million (51.5 % of the region's total population). It is followed by Ghana which has an estimated population of 22.56 million, representing 8.6% of the total population of the region. Cabo Verde is the member country with the smallest population estimated at 520 000 or 0.2% of the region's total.

ECOWAS is the most populous regional economic community in Africa. A distinct economic sub Group known as UEMOA also exists within the community. This sub Group which comprises eight countries is a monetary and customs union with a common currency, the CFA franc. The countries are Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.

The seven remaining countries in Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) have each their own national currencies. This Group accounts for 75% of the region's GDP and 70% of its population. The West African Power Pool (WAPP) was created by Decision A/DEC.5/12/99 during the 22 nd Summit of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government in order to address the issue of power supply deficiency within West Africa.

The West African Monetary Agency (WAMA) is an autonomous specialized agency of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). WAMA was empowered to ensure the Monitoring, coordination and implementation of the ECOWAS monetary cooperation programme, encourage and promote the application of market determined exchange rates for intra-Regional trade, initiate policies and programmes on monetary and Economic integration and ensure the establishment of a single monetary zone in West Africa.

The West African Monetary Institute (WAMI) established under the Agreement of the West African Monetary Zone shall perform its functions and carry out its activities in accordance with the WAMZ Agreement. The members of the WAMI shall be the central banks of the member states (National Central Banks).

The West African Development Bank (WADB) is the common financial institution for the development member states of the West African Monetary Union (UMOA), later changed into a West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) by a treaty dated 10 January 1994.

ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED (ETI). ETI, a public limited liability company, was established as a bank holding company in 1985 under a private sector initiative spearheaded by the Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce and industry with the support of ECOWAS.

ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) (Banque d'Investissement pour le Développement de la CEDEAO)
EBID is an international finance institution established by the new Article 21 of the Revised Treaty as amended by the Additional Act A/SA.9/01/07 of 19 January 2007. It has two windows, one for the promotion of the private sector and the other for the development of the public sector.

ECOWAS, Economic Community, West African, States, Africa, West, African, Monetary, Institute, WAMI, Development Bank, WADB, Bank, Investment, Development, EBID, BIDC, Nigeria, Senegal, Master, international business