The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) officially launched the ECOWAS Youth and Women Entrepreneurship Program (EYWEP), a regional initiative aimed at strengthening the economic empowerment of youth and women through entrepreneurship, innovation, and skills development.
The ceremony took place on the sidelines of the Meeting of Ministers in Charge of Youth and Sports of ECOWAS Member States, dedicated to the validation and adoption of new regional policies on youth, sports, and volunteerism.
Implemented by the ECOWAS Center for Youth and Sports Development (CDJS), with technical and financial support from AUDA-NEPAD and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the EYWEP program aims to create an enabling environment for the development of innovative and sustainable businesses capable of generating decent jobs and stimulating economic growth within the ECOWAS region.
The program will support young entrepreneurs and women entrepreneurs through an integrated set of services, including capacity building, mentoring, access to business networks, technical support, and financing mechanisms tailored to the needs of high-potential businesses. This approach aims to strengthen the competitiveness of the beneficiaries and foster the emergence of a more dynamic and inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem in West Africa.
The launch ceremony also featured the symbolic presentation of the first round of support to selected beneficiaries in the pilot countries, illustrating ECOWAS’s commitment to translating regional policies into concrete actions that benefit the people.
Through the launch of EYWEP, the ECOWAS Commission reaffirms its commitment to promoting inclusive growth based on innovation, job creation, private sector development, and the empowerment of youth and women. The program will help strengthen the economic resilience of member states and accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals as well as the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
The EYWEP program thus serves as a new regional platform for cooperation, innovation, and investment in the entrepreneurial potential of West African youth and women, with the aim of making entrepreneurship a true driver of prosperity, stability, and regional integration.
