Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and African business leader Tony Elumelu on Wednesday urged stronger collaboration between governments and the private sector to drive economic integration, industrialisation and investment across West Africa.
The call came during a media roundtable in Lagos linked to the West Africa Investment and Industrialisation Summit (WAIIS) Private Sector Advisory Board Principals’ Meeting. The discussion focused on mobilising private capital and preparing investment-ready projects ahead of the summit scheduled for 16–18 November 2026 in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
President Bio, who is spearheading the summit, said West Africa has talked about economic integration for nearly five decades without creating a truly consolidated regional market.
“West Africa has been talking about economic integration for about 50 years, but we have not done enough to integrate our economies and create a consolidated market,” Bio said. “For me, one of the things we have to do is to bring together this common market to serve more than 400 million people. I am mobilising the private sector in West Africa and around the world to come together and begin to take economic integration in West Africa more seriously.”
Governor Sanwo-Olu stressed the need for Africa to produce goods and services that Africans themselves will consume, while building larger markets for businesses.
“We have said it several times that Africa needs to build what Africans will use and what Africans will consume. That is the thinking behind this initiative,” he said. “For Lagos, and indeed West Africa, we have to begin to work together and realise the opportunities that exist in terms of creating a larger market and ensuring that there is greater intentionality in building platforms that can bring us together.”
He added that technology, agriculture and other productive sectors could play key roles, and affirmed Lagos’s readiness to partner with stakeholders to turn regional aspirations into practical economic opportunities.
Elumelu, co-chair of the summit, founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation and a leading advocate of Africapitalism, welcomed the political commitment.
“I also want to speak on behalf of the African and West African private sector. We are happy that our political leaders are beginning to bring all of us together so that we can make a much greater impact,” he said. “This is consistent with our aspirations to create jobs for our young people and ensure that everyone within the region has an opportunity to prosper.”
He noted that West Africa already possesses the resources, human capital and entrepreneurial spirit needed for shared prosperity, expressing hope that the summit would usher in a new era of stronger economic cooperation.
The initiative coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), founded in 1975. Organisers argue that deeper regional cooperation remains essential for expanding trade, investment and industrial development.
Themed “Powering Regional Integration through Energy Trade, Strategic Minerals, Agribusiness and Digital Transformation,” WAIIS is expected to attract heads of state, ministers, investors, development finance institutions, business leaders and project owners. Its goal is to develop bankable regional projects that attract both public and private capital while boosting energy access, food security, industrialisation and digital connectivity.
The summit will focus on an investment pipeline exceeding $180 billion across four pillars: energy trade and industrial growth; strategic minerals and natural resource development; agribusiness and food systems transformation; and digital transformation and connectivity. Organisers aim to move beyond announcements by tracking commitments and advancing projects through the WAIIS Secretariat.
