A new initiative is set to bring together companies, investors, and institutions from Togo and Ghana as the African Continental Free Trade Area continues to take shape.
The West African Business Conference 2026, themed “From Togo to Ghana, Unlocking West African Business Potential,” aims to forge trade and investment partnerships across the subregion. The focus will be on deepening business ties between Lomé and Accra while making it easier for companies to tap into West African markets. Talks will center on commercial and industrial partnerships, product and service promotion, and innovation development.
SMEs and Startups Take Center Stage
WABC 2026 plans to shine a particular spotlight on small and medium-sized enterprises, startups, and young entrepreneurs. Organizers note that these players — vital to African economies — continue to struggle with access to financing, markets, investors, and business networks.
The event is designed as a networking platform to spark new market opportunities and build regional value chains.
“Building markets means creating favorable conditions for the movement of goods, services and investment. Creating partnerships means developing regional value chains capable of generating more wealth and jobs,” the organizers said.
Trade Ties Deepening
The conference follows a July 30 mission by Ghanaian business operators to Lomé, where discussions covered mining, manufacturing, and textiles — three sectors flagged as potential avenues for diversifying trade between the two nations.
Such efforts have gained momentum as bilateral trade has expanded over the past decade. UN Comtrade data shows Togo’s exports to Ghana climbed from roughly $55 million in 2015 to more than $70 million in 2019, before slowing in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Recovery followed. By 2024, Togo’s exports to Ghana hit $85.2 million, while imports from Ghana reached $103.8 million — bringing total merchandise trade between the two countries to nearly $189 million.
Through WABC 2026, business operators in both markets hope to convert that trade growth into fresh commercial and investment opportunities, leveraging possibilities opened up by AfCFTA.
