28/07/2026
This week the AfCFTA has commenced Regional Stakeholder Engagements and Consultations with Trade Support Ecosystems, BSOs, and CSOs across starting with the ECOWAS the region.
For millions of women traders operating at our land borders often in remote, rural communitieswalking into a city office to formally register a business is a luxury they cannot afford. The costs, the distance, the literacy barriers, and the bureaucratic red tape make formalization an impossible dream.
So, how do they access preferential trade regimes, Simplified Trade Regimes , or cross-border permits, Certificate of Origin certificates , Standards clearances and any other documents needed for exporting.
Their CSO or BSO membership becomes their identity.
These grassroots organizations many headquartered right at the border posts have always served as the de facto registrars for these women. By belonging to a trusted cooperative or civil society network, these traders gain a recognized collective identity that allows border officials to grant them preferential treatment, access to market information, and organized cross-border logistics.
The purpose of this consultation was to formally recognize and strengthen this existing alternative infrastructure.
We didn't just gather to talk policy. We gathered to:
- Integrate rural, border-based CSOs/BSOs into the official AfCFTA implementation framework moving them from "informal alternatives" to recognized partners.
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- Bridge the gap between formal legal registration (which takes years) and the daily reality of trade (which happens today).
- Ensure that membership in these organizations translates into tangible recognition at customs posts, giving women a legal foothold even as they work towards formalization.
- Empower these grassroots bodies with the resources and training needed to issue verifiable credentials that speak the language of border authorities.
The Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade is our north star. But implementation must meet women where they actually are. If they cannot come to the formal registry, we must bring formal recognition to them through the CSOs and BSOs they already trust.
The journey to inclusive trade is not about forcing rural women into city offices. It’s about empowering the village-level cooperatives and border-based associations to serve as the gateway to continental opportunities.
Together, we are rewriting the rules of identity, access, and dignity for West Africa’s women cross-border traders.
