The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will take its “ECOWAS For All” public sensitisation campaign to the Makola Market in Accra on Friday, October 23, to educate traders and other business operators on regional trade and free-movement opportunities.
The engagement will focus on cross-border trade, the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS), customs procedures, immigration requirements, import clearance and business opportunities within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The campaign, organised in collaboration with relevant ministries, departments and agencies, was launched on October 2, 2026, under the theme “Bringing ECOWAS Closer to the Citizen: Promoting Awareness, Participation and Opportunities for Regional Integration.”
According to the Ministry, the Makola engagement is intended to improve traders’ practical understanding of ECOWAS trade and free-movement arrangements and how to use the opportunities responsibly.
The exercise will also provide market-specific guidance on border procedures, cargo, health requirements, transport operations and business concerns affecting traders and other market-based operators.
As part of the engagement, participants will have direct access to officials from the Ghana Immigration Service, Customs, Port Health and other relevant institutions through interactive clinics.
The clinics are expected to help address questions on travel requirements, customs documentation and lawful regional trade procedures, while recurring challenges raised by traders and transport operators will be documented for referral to the relevant institutions and follow-up.
The campaign will also highlight entrepreneurship and small-business opportunities within the ECOWAS region, with a focus on market women, women-led trader groups, importers and exporters, cross-border traders, freight and logistics operators, transport unions, artisans and small and medium-sized enterprises.
Young people, apprentices, youth-led businesses, market leaders and representatives of civil society and the media are also expected to participate.
The Ministry said the initiative seeks to strengthen collaboration between its ECOWAS Office, technical agencies, trader associations, transport unions, market leaders and the media to improve public awareness of regional integration.
The Makola engagement forms part of the broader “ECOWAS For All” campaign aimed at bringing information on regional integration, citizens’ rights and responsibilities, and trade opportunities closer to the public.
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