The workshop brought together several representatives of the trade sectors. Photo DR
Faced with obstacles to cross-border trade in West Africa, a digital information portal will be put into service. The model of this innovation was presented this Thursday at the Chamber of Commerce in Abidjan-Plateau by a POS Foundation delegation from Ghana. It was during a Borderless Alliance workshop.
The "Trade Web Portal" provides access to information on the regulations in force (business environment, tax costs, etc.) in the country of destination. This digital tool is an open door to the first-hand information needed by any trader or industrialist who wants to conquer an external market. Because the lack of information exposes economic operators to all types of abuse.
The Executive Director of POS Foundation, Jonathan Oseï Owusu, said that creativity is a weapon in the fight against poverty. “Africans have enough resources and passion for work. However, they lack innovation, creativity and bargaining power , ” he explained. This is why he calls for the pooling of all skills so that the portal operates at its optimum level for a common West African trade system.
For the vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce, Samaké Vakaramoko, this information channel bears witness to the role that technologies can play in the “process optimization” of inter-State exchanges.
The workshop table with the president of the Borderless Alliance (center). Photo DR
The workshop, which had the theme "Promoting small-scale cross-border trade, the rule of law and the use of technology in West Africa", was placed under the seal of training, information and the capacity building of cross-border trade actors, according to the terms of the president of the Executive Committee and president of the national committee of the Boderless Alliance, Jonas Lago.
"I remain hopeful that at the end of our exchanges, we will have added value to small-scale cross-border trade, enriched the use of technology and strengthened the development of a consolidated web portal," he said. -he assures.
The pilot phase takes into account 6 ECOWAS States (Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria and Côte d'Ivoire). The debates and contributions during the next meetings planned in Ghana and Nigeria will enrich the idea in order to make it operational as soon as possible.
It should be recalled that in response to the problem of the lack of information and within the framework of assistance to carriers and private operators in West Africa, West Africa Trade Hub - USAID, in collaboration with the Observatory of the Fluidity of Transports (OFT) opened in 2013 Border Information Centers (CIF) in Noé and Elubo , on the Ivorian-Ghanaian border. Similarly, the OFT has a toll-free number that allows anyone who is the victim of harassment to benefit from assistance.
Celestin KOUADIO
Source: http://acturoutes.info/articles/Un_portail_web_presente_pour_informer_les_acteurs
