The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has convened businesses from across West Africa for a two-day virtual programme aimed at strengthening commercial linkages in the regional rice value chain and reducing the subregion’s heavy dependence on imports.Held on the 28th to the 29th of September, 2026 under the West Africa Business Linkages Platform (WABLP) Rice Value Chain Activation Programme, the event brought together Business Support Organisations (BSOs), small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), buyers, processors, finance providers and other stakeholders to translate analysis into concrete partnerships and follow-up actions.
The initiative is designed to convert recent ECA analytical work on rice value chains into commercial opportunities. By matching BSOs and SMEs with potential buyers, processors and financiers, ECA hopes to generate new business agreements, including letters of intent and memorandums of understanding, that can deepen intra-regional trade in rice.
Ngone Diop, director of ECA’s Subregional Office for West Africa (ECA/SRO-WA), said the programme seeks to turn evidence on constraints, market opportunities and support needs into stronger regional value chains and increased cross-border trade. She noted that ECA has engaged more than 150 SMEs in the rice sector to better understand their challenges and what kind of support would help them scale.
The WABLP rice programme is aligned with the ECOWAS Regional Rice Programme, a framework adopted by the Economic Community of West African States to strengthen the regional rice economy and move towards greater self-sufficiency. West Africa currently spends billions of dollars annually on rice imports despite having strong production potential, a gap attributed to fragmented value chains, weak processing capacity and limited cross-border market integration. By focusing on enterprise linkages, the ECA initiative complements broader efforts to mobilise finance for the sector. A separate West Africa Rice Investment Roundtable held in Accra in June 2026 showcased a proposed $500 million Rice Investment Vehicle aimed at de-risking investments and scaling competitive rice businesses, underscoring growing interest from public and private investors in the subregion’s rice economy.
The rice activation programme builds on the WABLP network, which brings together more than 500 BSOs and SMEs across ECOWAS member states. ECA describes WABLP as a mechanism to strengthen enterprise linkages and regional integration across priority sectors, with rice the first value chain to be activated under this broader approach.
Over the medium and longer term, the initiative seeks to reduce West Africa’s dependence on external rice, boost intra-regional trade and strengthen the resilience of food systems in the face of global price shocks and supply disruptions. For participating businesses, the virtual exchange offers a platform to access market intelligence, explore financing options and identify partners for joint ventures, contract farming, processing and distribution.
For policymakers and development partners, the ECA programme highlights the importance of connecting production, processing and markets if West Africa is to capture more value from its own rice output. Strengthening these linkages is seen as critical not only for food security but also for job creation, rural incomes and the development of agro-processing clusters that can serve regional rather than just domestic markets.
As the two-day exchange concludes, the focus will shift to follow-up: tracking the business connections made, supporting the implementation of any agreements reached and identifying where additional policy or investment support is needed to sustain momentum in the regional rice value chain.
Africa Presents is a Pan-African digital magazine and monthly publication covering politics, business, economy, culture, tech, and the stories shaping Africa and its diaspora. Visit africapresents.com and follow @AfricaPresents for daily coverage and monthly themed magazine editions.
Leave a comment