Professor Fatou Sow Sarr, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs representing the ECOWAS Commission, and Mr Mulualem Syoum, CEO of the AeTrade Group signed an historic partnership agreement to facilitate access for SMEs, women and youth in West Africa to trade through AeTrade Group digital platforms including Sokokuu.Africa and 50MAWSP. This will fast track digital, financial inclusion and job creation in West Africa and boost intra-African trade under the AfCFTA.
The formal signing of the historic collaboration agreement came as a follow up to a strategic meeting that took place at the AeTrade Group Continental Headquarters on October 8th, 2024. The meeting convened participations both in-person and virtually from COMESA, EAC Secretariat and ECOWAS.
Professor. Fatou Sow Sarr, and her delegation from ECOWAS Gender Development Centre (EGDC), briefed participants to the meeting on the 50 Million African Women Ppeak Platform (50MAWSP) and what the EGDC has been doing since its establishment and its vision in the future to sustain such initiative in the ECOWAS region.
After introducing the team at AeTrade Group continental headquarters, the CEO and the team presented the AeTrade Group integrated ecosystem to the ECOWAS delegation. The team presented the insights about Sokokuu.Africa platform-a robust ecosystem with integrated solutions to support the growth of MSMEs and improve their competitiveness in trade and promote “Made in Africa’ in the continent and global marketplace.
During the past year, the AeTrade Group has made significant progress in establishing the digital trade infrastructure to enhance the visibility and export readiness of women and youth-led SMEs through onboarding onto the digital marketplace (Sokokuu. Africa). Through a shared prosperity model, more than 330 partners have signed up and more are welcome to participate in this inclusive sustainable programme. Using world-class tools for financial and digital inclusion the AeTrade Group is ready to implement an innovative approach in Rwanda to scale up job creation and youth entrepreneurship in agricultural regional value chains. This is one of the priority areas in the Action Plan to strengthen food systems across the continent.
The meeting concluded with the commitment to strengthen the partnership and its operational modalities to derive greater impact results in digital trade, trade in goods and trade in services as well as capacity building for the marginalised groups on the ECOWAS Region including MSMEs, women, youth and rural communities to benefit from the AfCFTA.
***Ends***
About the ECOWAS and 50MW,
ECOWAS GENDER DEVELOPMENT CENTRE (EGDC), was set up in January 2003 through Decision A/DEC 16/1/03 of the Conference of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government to provide ECOWAS with a specialized agency on gender and development and situated on the Complexe Sicap Point E, Imm C, First Floor, Avenue Cheikh Anta Diop Dakar, Senegal (hereinafter referred to as The EGDC) and represented by Her Excellency Pr. Fatou SOW SARR, Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs;on the other hand;
About Ae Trade
The Ae Trade is an African Diaspora-led social entrepreneurship initiative filling crucial gaps in e-commerce and other ICTs aiming to digitalize trade in Africa at a large scale. The group encourages investment in SMEs with a view to creating more jobs for the growing youth population – generating wealth across the continent. The AeTrade Group is implementing country programmes coordinated at their regional hubs with the continental headquarters located in Rwanda.
For further information, please contact:
Mme SANDRA OULATE FATTOH,
Director, ECOWAS Gender Development Centre – EGDC,
Email: soulate@ecowas.int
Mme THIAM Salimata
Principal Programme Officer Gender - PPO Gender
ECOWAS Gender Development Centre – EGDC,
Email: sthiam@ecowas.int / salimata.thiam@gmx.fr
Ms. Immaculate Bugingo
Chief Technical Advisor to the CEO
Mr. Romeo Mpundu
Digital Marketing, AeTrade Group,
E-mail: mromeo@sokokuu.africa