The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), and the East African Community (EAC), aware of the importance of promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women and youth for regional integration, signed a protocol of agreement in 2016 to jointly implement the project called “50 Million African Women Speak Platform” (50MAWSP) with the support of funding from the African Development Bank (AfDB). These three Regional Economic Communities (RECs) have joined their efforts to achieve a greater impact, covering thirty-eight (38) countries on the continent.

The development objective of the project is to contribute to the economic empowerment of women by providing a networking platform that would allow them to access information on both financial and non-financial services. More specifically, the project “50 Million African Women Speak Platform” was launched with the ambition of creating a digital space enabling African women to access essential information, strengthen their entrepreneurial capacities, and promote their economic inclusion at both regional and continental levels.

After a first implementation phase from 2016 to 2019, ECOWAS, through the ECOWAS Center for Gender Development (EGDC), organized in partnership with COMESA and the EAC, a joint planning workshop of the three RECs (ECOWAS, COMESA, and EAC) from May 15 to 17, 2024, in Abidjan, Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, for the implementation of the second phase of the platform “50 Million Women Speak Platform.” The objective was to discuss, approve, and validate the new features proposed for the update of the 50MAWSP platform. This workshop also aimed to strengthen mutual understanding and collaboration among the RECs for better coordination of regional development efforts.

As part of the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the EGDC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with AeTrade Group for the convergence of the platforms “50 Million Women Speak Platform” and “Sokoku.” The purpose of the Sokoku platform is to create an African digital marketplace to make African products “Made in Africa” more visible. Currently, more than 3,000 African companies are involved with this platform. The goal of this exchange mission between AeTrade and the other RECs, including ECOWAS through the EGDC, is to raise public awareness (especially among women) and inform them about the existence of this tool so that they can embrace it. One of the particularities of this application is its ability to eliminate or minimize customs constraints by erasing borders between African states. Its operating logic aligns with the implementation dynamics of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Sokoku also stands out for its mission to mobilize specifically African funds to develop trade and exchanges in Africa.