Oluchi Chibuzor
Sierra Leone’s President, Julius Maada Bio; Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and African business leader and Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Mr. Tony Elumelu, yesterday called for stronger collaboration between governments and the private sector to accelerate economic integration, industrialisation and investment across West Africa.
The call was made in Lagos, during a media roundtable held in connection with the West Africa Investment and Industrialisation Summit (WAIIS) Private Sector Advisory Board Principals’ Meeting.
The engagement focused on mobilising private capital and advancing investment-ready projects ahead of the WAIIS scheduled for November 16 to 18, 2026, in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Bio, who is leading the summit, said West Africa had discussed economic integration for about five decades without doing enough to create a truly consolidated regional market.
He said the time had come for governments and the private sector to take regional integration more seriously by building a common market capable of serving more than 400 million people.
“West Africa has been talking about economic integration for about 50 years, but we have not done enough to integrate our economies and create a consolidated market,” Bio said.
“For me, one of the things we have to do is to bring together this common market to serve more than 400 million people.
“I am mobilising the private sector in West Africa and around the world to come together and begin to take economic integration in West Africa more seriously.”
Speaking on Lagos’ role in the initiative, Sanwo-Olu said Africa must increasingly focus on producing goods and services that Africans would consume while creating a larger market for businesses across the continent.
He said Lagos and other West African economies must work together to unlock opportunities and establish platforms capable of deepening regional integration.
“We have said it several times that Africa needs to build what Africans will use and what Africans will consume. That is the thinking behind this initiative,” the governor said.
“For Lagos, and indeed West Africa, we have to begin to work together and realise the opportunities that exist in terms of creating a larger market and ensuring that there is greater intentionality in building platforms that can bring us together.”
Sanwo-Olu said technology, agriculture and other productive sectors could play important roles in strengthening economic integration and creating opportunities across the region.
He added that Lagos was ready to contribute to the initiative by working with stakeholders and political leaders to translate regional aspirations into practical economic opportunities.
Also speaking, Elumelu, who the Co-chair of the summit said the private sector was encouraged by the commitment of political leaders to bring businesses and governments together to accelerate economic development.
Elumelu, the founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) and promoter of Africapitalism, which advocates private-sector-led development and entrepreneurship in Africa, said stronger regional cooperation would help create jobs for young people and provide greater opportunities for prosperity across West Africa.
“I also want to speak on behalf of the African and West African private sector. We are happy that our political leaders are beginning to bring all of us together so that we can make a much greater impact,” Elumelu said.
“This is consistent with our aspirations to create jobs for our young people and ensure that everyone within the region has an opportunity to prosper.”
According to him, West Africa possesses the resources, human capital and entrepreneurial capacity required to build a prosperous regional economy.
“We have what it takes. We have the resources, the people and the entrepreneurial spirit to build a prosperous West Africa,” he said.
Elumelu expressed the hope that the summit would mark the beginning of a new era of stronger economic cooperation, integration and shared prosperity in the region.
The WAIIS initiative comes as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) marks 50 years since its establishment in 1975, with its proponents arguing that deeper regional cooperation remains essential to expanding trade, investment and industrial development.
The summit, themed “Powering Regional Integration through Energy Trade, Strategic Minerals, Agribusiness and Digital Transformation,” is expected to bring together Heads of State, ministers, investors, development finance institutions, business leaders and project owners.
A key objective is to develop bankable regional projects capable of attracting public and private capital while strengthening energy access, food security, industrialisation and digital connectivity.
The summit is being positioned as a platform for governments, investors, development finance institutions, business leaders and project owners to connect regional priorities with capital, partnerships and investment-ready opportunities.
WAIIS is expected to focus on an investment pipeline of more than $180 billion across four strategic pillars, including energy trade and industrial growth; strategic minerals and natural resource development; agribusiness and food systems transformation; and digital transformation and connectivity.
The organisers said the summit would seek to move beyond investment announcements by tracking commitments and advancing projects through the WAIIS Secretariat.