Kolawole Sofola, the director of trade at the ECOWAS Commission, said that local businesses have a number of untapped potentials that have not been explored by buyers.

He stated that the goal of the West Africa Connect program, which was conducted in Accra on Tuesday, September 20, 2022, was to link local product providers with customers both inside and outside of the ECOWAS subregion.

Kolawole Sofola further explained that the initiative will give local businesses access to market prospects and connect them to global value chains in an exclusive conversation with GhanaWeb.

"We know many local firms even the ones that try to produce for the region have challenges in accessing markets. We have great ideas, large population but have challenges to access to finance, meeting quality standards, packaging," he told GhanaWeb's Ernestina Serwaa Asante in the interview.

"The main objective of this event is to connect suppliers from the region to buyers both inside and outside the region in order to promote access to market opportunities and linkages with global value chains. These local firms have untapped potential and this event will allow them to demonstrate the quality of their products and services which will lead to profitable business partnerships," Kolawole Safola stated.

He admonished local firms to pay attention to customer relationships as that is key to staying competitive on the market.

"You need to find a niche, you need to make sure you have quality and make sure that your customers have a level of trust with your product so that if there are problems, you can address them," the ECOWAS Director of Trade stated.

He called for the promotion of local businesses and private sector to boost intra-African trade for sustainable development.