English 
Français 
Português 
Taking place in Lomé on 19–20 May 2026, the inaugural AfCFTA Conference on Competition Policy and Law is providing a platform for reflection on the role of competition in advancing African market integration. Organized under the theme “Mettre la concurrence au service de l’intégration des marchés africains” (rendered in English as
“ Harnessing Competition as a Catalyst for African Market Integration”), the meeting is bringing together senior representatives of government, continental and regional institutions, competition authorities, development partners, and the private sector to examine how competition policy can support open, integrated, and efficient markets across Africa.
Against this backdrop, the objective of the conference was to promote dialogue on the implementation of the AfCFTA competition agenda, strengthen cooperation among national, regional, and continental institutions, and draw practical lessons from existing regional experiences. In this context, Dr. Simeon KOFFI, Executive Director of ERCA, delivered remarks on behalf of Dr. Kalilou SYLLA, ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, thereby underscoring the importance of the ECOWAS regional experience in shaping Africa’s continental competition framework. ERCA’s participation in the opening session alongside leading African and international officials further reflected the Authority’s growing relevance in discussions on competition governance and market integration.
His intervention further highlighted the progress made within ECOWAS in building a regional competition framework. It recalled that West African leaders recognized early the intrinsic relationship between competition and market integration, adopted the ECOWAS Competition Policy in 2007, and subsequently established the ECOWAS Regional Competition Authority (ERCA) as part of a broader institutional and regulatory architecture aimed at ensuring the effective application of competition law and policy across the region. This experience was presented as a concrete regional contribution to the wider implementation of the AfCFTA Protocol on Competition Policy.
By taking part in this inaugural conference, ERCA reaffirmed ECOWAS’ commitment to promoting competition as a strategic instrument for regional integration and continental economic transformation. Through this participation ERCA once again signaled its readiness to contribute actively to the construction of an integrated, open, and competitive African market capable of delivering inclusive prosperity for the continent.
