The
sub-regional economic bloc, the Economic Community of West African States,
ECOWAS, on Monday announced that its 4th Business Forum and the 2nd
Private Sector Awards to take place in Gambia in September 2012, will be
focusing on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) development.
The
announcement followed a meeting by the Committee comprising representatives of
the ECOWAS Commission, Regional Business Associations (RBAs) and other
stakeholders, from May 2-3, 2012 in the Gambian capital, Banjul.
Two
awards will be given out, one for a Young Entrepreneur who has demonstrated
innovations in ICT and the other to a company that has distinguished itself in
the field of telecommunications, ECOWAS revealed in a May 17 statement.
The
Committee also called for the establishment of a communication strategy in
order to attract at least one sponsor from each Member State and by sector, set
up four sub-communities for planning and preparation for the forum. A working
group was also formed to make proposals to the draft budget.
The
Commissioner for Macroeconomic Policy, Dr. Ibrahim Bocar Ba, who was
represented at the meeting by the Director of Private Sector, Dr. Alfred
Braimah, affirmed ECOWAS’ commitment to the awards and charged the committee to
come up with concrete measures whose implementation would ensure the success of
the two events.
He
said the forum had resulted in the setting up of a development fund to finance
bankable projects, signing of partnership agreements with countries and the
creation of the Regional Coordination Centre for Renewable Energy (ECREE) in
Cape Verde.
The
Commissioner also said the Commission attached great importance to the progress
of the Regional Business Associations and regional development in line with the
“ECOWAS of Peoples” objective, under Vision 2020
Written by Modou S. Joof
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