Grand Bassam, 20^th Mars 2017. Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is set to boost e-commerce and financial inclusion by promoting contribution to these areas from the postal sector.

To this end, Member States’ representatives met in a three-Day workshop which held from the 15^th and 17^th of March 2017 in Grand Bassam, Cote d’Ivoire, to develop a strategy by which the contribution of the postal sector to the development of e-Commerce and financial inclusion in the region would be increased.

Put together by the West African Postal Conference (WAPCO) and the Forum for Research and Development of African Postal Services (FRDPA) in co-junction with the Government of Cote D’Ivoire, the workshop sensitised Member States on the potential for National Postal Operators (NPOs) to diversify their existing products and services while taking stock of the regulatory, operational and design requirements at both the regional and national levels to effectively contribute to the growth of e-Commerce and financial services products.

After extensive deliberations, participants adopted the ECOWAS/WAPCO Declaration on Postal Contribution to Financial Inclusion in West Africa, as well as the Regional Postal Strategy for the development of e-commerce in the ECOWAS space.

The Commissioner for Telecommunications and Information Technology of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Isaias Barreto da Rosa, had emphasised at the workshop that Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) constitute a fundamental element in the development of any nation. It was for this reason he noted, that the ECOWAS Postal Services Master Plan (PSMP) which defines sustainable initiatives, programs and projects for the region and Member States was developed.

While declaring the workshop open, the Minister of Communications, Digital Economy and Post and Spokesperson of the Government of Cote d’Ivoire, Mr. Bruno Nabagne Kone, reiterated his Government’s commitment to the development of the postal sector and the ECOWAS objective of regional integration and the creation of a common ICT market.

Participants were taken through presentations by the ECOWAS Commission, WAPCO, PAPU, UPU, FRDPAas well as private sector enterprises. Representatives of postal operators in ECOWAS Member States also exchanged on successful experiences of the implementation of models for the introduction of products on financial inclusion and e-commerce.

The workshop had in attendance representatives of Member States’ postal service organisations, ECOWAS Ministries in charge of post, ECOWAS Department of Telecommunications and Information Technologies, WAPCO, the Pan-African Postal Union (PAPU), the Universal Postal Union (UPU) and other sector stakeholders.