The business community across Nigeria’s South East geopolitical zone will on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, converge in Enugu for a high-level Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS) sensitization workshop.
The programme aims to empower SMEs, promote duty-free exports, and deepen intra-West African trade, as well as expand regional trade and entrepreneurship.
The workshop, themed “Increasing Intra-Regional Trade through ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme,” is jointly organized by the ECOWAS National Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Enugu State Government.
In a statement, the Special Assistant on Communication and New Media to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Magnus Eze, says the ETLS is scheduled to take place at the International Conference Centre, Independence Layout, Enugu.
Dr. Eze noted that the ETLS, which was established in 1979, served as a cornerstone of ECOWAS’ regional integration agenda, enabled duty-free market access for certified products that originated within the West African sub-region.
He explained that the scheme aims to reduce dependency on imports, encourage entrepreneurship, and create jobs across member states, adding that Nigeria currently accounts for 36.1% of all registered companies participating in the ETLS framework, with 3,146 companies and over 6,000 certified products.
“In 2024 alone, 800 companies and 419 products were newly registered. Despite these numbers, the scheme remains underutilized, largely due to limited awareness among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), traders, and public sector actors who are often unaware of its benefits, eligibility criteria, and implementation processes.”
“The Enugu sensitization programme seeks to bridge that gap by promoting understanding of ETLS procedures and how businesses can leverage it for growth,” Eze said.
According to the statement, the workshop will focus on building stakeholder capacity on rules of origin, certification processes, and eligibility requirements, while also guiding participants on proper documentation, submission of Certificates of Origin, and compliance with ECOWAS regulations.
It further states that participants will include entrepreneurs, SME operators, members of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), women in business networks, exporters’ clubs, agro-processors, and other private-sector stakeholders from the South East.
Eze emphasized that the processing of ETLS applications in Nigeria is free, encouraging business owners to take advantage of the opportunity to expand their market reach within the West African sub-region.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged the South East business community to participate actively and learn how to export their products duty-free to other ECOWAS countries, thereby boosting cross-border trade and economic integration in West Africa.
