The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) convenes the regional project coordination committee meeting for the Western Africa Regional Digital Integration Program (WARDIP)
The Regional Project Coordination Committee (RPCC) of the Western Africa Regional Digital Integration Program (WARDIP) held its inaugural meeting on 11th November 2025, in Conakry, Guinea, marking a major milestone for the region’s digital transformation agenda.
WARDIP is a World Bank-funded initiative to boost broadband access and promote the establishment of a single digital market across West Africa. The first Series of Projects (SOP1) will run from 2024 to 2028 and is being implemented by The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, the ECOWAS Commission, the African Union, and Smart Africa.
The RPCC serves as a coordination mechanism within the project by providing strategic guidance and policy insight to ensure annual work plans of the respective beneficiaries reflect regional and cross-country priorities. The Committee also has the mandate to advise on potential synergies across the national and regional components in order to maximize the impact of investments, conduct annual reviews of the project progress, and facilitate knowledge sharing between the ECOWAS Commission and implementing countries.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the implementing agencies in the Participating Countries, ECOWAS Commission, the World Banks as well as officials from the respective Project Implementation Units.
The meeting provided an opportunity to discuss the roadmap for a sustained collaboration among project implementing partners for knowledge sharing and learning. The implementing countries also committed to leveraging the coordination mechanisms established within the program to support the effective follow-up at the national level of those outputs and actions adopted during the implementation of regional-level activities.
This successful inaugural meeting sets the stage for synchronized efforts to accelerate the implementation of WARDIP, ensuring that the project delivers its mandate of increasing broadband access and advancing the integration of digital markets across Western Africa.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
