The Scholarship Program, implemented since 2010 by the EGDC, aims to reduce gender inequalities and disparities in the technical and professional sectors by facilitating access for girls from disadvantaged backgrounds to high-quality technical and professional training. The objective of the Program is to contribute to the social and economic empowerment of girls and women and to promote gender equality within the ECOWAS space.

It specifically targets bright and needy girls in the ECOWAS Member States by awarding excellence scholarships that enable them to access high-quality, specialized training. However, for the past five years, a maximum quota of 20% of the scholarships has been allocated to boys in certain countries that have achieved gender parity in schooling.

For the period 2025-2027, the EGDC proposes to further involve the private sector, universities, and other training institutions present in the Member States. These training institutes, research centers, or companies will be identified and mobilized by the Member States, and partnership agreements will be signed between the relevant ministries (Ministry of Women, Ministry of Education, or Ministry of Teaching, depending on the country) and the partners (private sector, research or training institutes, etc.). It is planned that each country will sign three (3) partnership agreements with universities, three (3) with training institutes, and three (3) with the private sector to support the program.

Given the relevance of this program within ECOWAS’s Vision 2050—to achieve a West African society where women and men have equal opportunities to participate in socio-economic development—the EGDC has taken innovative measures and initiatives to meet all these requirements in order to enhance the program’s performance. Accordingly, a Regional Steering Committee has been established to ensure regular monitoring and to make proposals for its improvement and better adaptation, taking into account the specificities of the Member States and any potential socio-structural changes that might occur.

This program is also distinguished by the involvement of the Permanent Representations of ECOWAS in the Member States in its management and implementation, as well as by the existence of an action plan detailing the steps for implementing improvements and new strategies for the Scholarship Program in the ECOWAS Member States, along with the real-time provision of a database and appropriate documentation on the Scholarship Program.