Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio and leading African investor Tony Elumelu have urged West Africa's private sector to take decisive action towards regional integration. They emphasized the need to mobilize capital, build competitive industries, create jobs, and transform the region's vast economic potential into shared prosperity. This call was made during a meeting in Lagos, ahead of the inaugural West Africa Integration and Investment Summit.
The meeting, which brought together leading private sector and financial institution leaders, focused on four strategic areas: energy trade and industrialization, strategic minerals, agribusiness, and digital transformation. These areas are believed to have the potential to reshape West Africa's economic future. President Bio set out an ambitious vision for the summit to consolidate a regional market of over 400 million people and mobilize businesses to deepen trade, investment, and economic cooperation.
President Bio emphasized the need for partnership and execution, stating that potential is not prosperity, and that the task is to convert advantages into productive enterprises, competitive industries, regional value chains, jobs, and wealth. He welcomed the private sector's role in driving regional integration and urged members of the Advisory Board to move from advocacy to active mobilization. This includes engaging prospective investors directly, matching them with viable projects, and identifying financing gaps and policy decisions required to move transactions forward.
Tony Elumelu reaffirmed his commitment to mobilizing African and international investment to support the execution of priority projects. He stressed that Africa's businesses must look beyond national borders and combine capital, expertise, and capabilities to build enterprises and industries capable of competing at scale. Elumelu also noted that private sector ambition must be matched by decisive government action, including policy certainty, regulatory efficiency, and security.
The importance of industrialization and the free movement of goods and services in building a truly integrated West African market was underscored by Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu. He emphasized that political leaders must provide the enabling environment, certainty, and assurances required for businesses to invest, produce, and trade across borders. The discussion centered on the shared conviction that West Africa has the scale, resources, talent, and entrepreneurial capacity to become one of the world's most dynamic economic regions.
The West Africa Integration and Investment Summit will take place on November 17-18, 2026, in Lungi, Sierra Leone. The summit will bring together heads of state, investors, and business leaders to advance investment across energy, strategic minerals, agribusiness, and digital transformation. Notable names on the WAIIS Private Sector Advisory Board include Tony Elumelu, Aliko Dangote, Folorunso Alakija, and Abdul Samad Rabiu, among others.
Key players are optimistic about the region's prospects, citing the availability of resources and talent. With the summit approaching, stakeholders are expected to work together to drive investment and create jobs. The summit aims to provide a platform for investors and businesses to explore opportunities in West Africa and to promote regional integration.
Key points
- West Africa has the potential to become one of the world's most dynamic economic regions.
- The region's private sector must work with governments to drive investment and create jobs.
- The West Africa Integration and Investment Summit will take place on November 17-18, 2026, in Lungi, Sierra Leone.
