West Africa’s leading economic bloc, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has appointed Nigeria’s billionaire industrialist Aliko Dangote as the inaugural chairperson of the ECOWAS Business Council, marking a major milestone in the region’s economic integration efforts.
The announcement was made by Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, president of the ECOWAS Commission, during the opening of the 95th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers in Abuja. Dangote’s selection reflects the bloc’s renewed drive to mobilise private sector capital and reinforce regional economic cooperation.
“We are reinvigorating our economic integration objectives by moving forward with the operationalisation of the ECOWAS Business Council. Alhaji Aliko Dangote has accepted our invitation to serve as the pioneer Chairperson of the Council giving his vast experience doing business within our community and across Africa,” said Touray.
The ECOWAS Business Council (EBC) is designed as a strategic platform to bridge gaps between private sector actors, governments, and ECOWAS institutions. It aims to support intra-regional trade, attract investment, and accelerate economic growth across the 15-member West African community.
Touray said Dangote’s extensive business experience within ECOWAS and across the African continent makes him well-suited to lead the initiative. “Through the Council, we hope to bring private sector actors around the table to discuss economic integration and development of our region,” he said.
The EBC is expected to facilitate dialogue and partnerships between business leaders, policymakers, and regional institutions, a key step toward reducing the bloc’s dependence on foreign capital and strengthening intra-regional investment flows.
ECOWAS officials noted that interest in intra-regional investment is increasing, citing recent economic forums such as Forum Senegal Invest, the West African Economic Summit in Nigeria, and Cote d’Ivoire’s “Invest in District Savanes”. These events have fostered collaboration across private sector and government stakeholders.
The EBC also aligns with the bloc’s broader vision of economic integration and competitiveness, complementing other initiatives designed to deepen trade and investment ties within the sub-region.
Dangote is widely recognised as Africa’s richest man and head of the Dangote Group, West Africa’s largest industrial conglomerate with interests in cement, sugar, agriculture, and energy sectors across multiple countries.
His leadership of the EBC will be pivotal as ECOWAS seeks to harness private sector innovation and capital for inclusive economic development, especially in a region with a rapidly growing youth population and expanding market opportunities.
