Technology transfer agreements

Forty-five years after its creation, the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme has registered 50,000 products for duty-free access, yet intra-regional trade barely clears 12 per cent. A hard look at the levies, legal obligations and political will standing between aspiration and market reality.

Roughly 70% of women-owned SMEs in developing countries are either unserved or underserved by formal financial institutions, a shortfall the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has indicated as one of the largest unmet financing needs in emerging markets (IFC, Closing the Gender Finance Gap Through Blended Finance, 2023).

There is a force at work behind every enduring achievement.

“The teams that win championships are not always the most talented. They are the most adaptable — the ones who read what the game demands and recalibrate mid-match, without losing their shape.”