The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu, has encouraged entrepreneurs of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s) across the South East zone of Nigeria, to embrace the ECOWAS Trade Liberation Scheme (ETLS) as a measure of expanding their scope of business transactions across the shores of West Africa, emphasing that ECOWAS bank and other logistics to leverage such transactions has been established.
Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu gave this explanations to a mixed audience from the private and public sectors, academia, traders, students,the political class, among others, who attended a one day sensitization workshop on ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme(ETLS),held on Tuesday, 28th October, at International Conference center Enugu.
She described ELTS as a tool for promoting Economic integration among West African countries.
She said: “This initiative is timely, as it speaks directly to the urgent task before us, which is to deepen regional integration, expand cross-border trade, and empower our Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), to enable them to take their rightful place in the vast West African market”.
The minister stressed that they chose Enugu as the choice for the workshop, having organized a similar event at Awka, the Anambra State capital initially.
According to her, the choice for Enugu metropolis also stems from the fact that Enugu state is emerging as another economic hub in Nigeria, in addition as being the gateway to the South East zone.
She added: “The State has become a beacon of economic transformation in the South-East of Nigeria.”
She said that Small and Medium Scale (SMEs) remain the engine room of the nation’s economy, generating employment, stimulating innovation and drives inclusive prosperity.
Therefore Strengthening SME’s is not merely a local concern but a regional imperative.
According to Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu, Enugu stands today as a model for how we can align local dynamism with continental ambitions.
She stated: “The ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme is not just a technical instrument, it is a strategic pillar of West Africa’s integration agenda.
“As the oldest operational trade policy of ECOWAS, it underpins the free movement of goods and services, complements the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, and anticipates the broader framework of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). In essence, ETLS is both a gateway and a test case for Africa’s economic renaissance.
“For Nigeria, as the largest economy in the region, leadership in this process is not optional, it is expected. Yet, the true measure of success lies not in Abuja or Lagos alone, but in how effectively local entrepreneurs, our traders, manufacturers, and innovators, are enabled to compete and thrive regionally.
According to her, the workshop was therefore about democratizing opportunities, equipping SMEs with the knowledge, skills, and networks to transcend local boundaries and embrace the wider West African market.
“What we do here today is part of a larger vision. We want to see a West Africa where no region and no entrepreneur is left behind. The South-East, with its centuries-old tradition of commerce and enterprise, is uniquely positioned to benefit from this. By tapping into ETLS, our SMEs can transform local brilliance into regional competitiveness, and in turn, national strength,” Bianca Ojukwu stated.
Standing for more than two hours during question and answer session, the Minister assured the people of South East zone that most bottlenecks that will hinder business transactions in the ELTS trade have been removed. For instance, She explained that the registration of interested enterpreneurs will be done by the Enugu State Ministry of Trade and Industries, thereby removing alleged distortions and exploitations by middle men (agents).the access to loans from ECOWAS Bank, the establishment of ECOMARK to protect and guide investors that meets with Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) requirements.
However, Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu’s assurances still was greeted with allegations of deliberate plans eschewing South East Enterpreneurs from loan facilities and other grants that enhances regional and international trade.
In corroboration, Zacks K.Yohanna, described the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS), as a lifeline project, stating that registered entrepreneurs do not need to renew their membership annually or periodically, as obtained in many other organisations.
He extolled Ndigbo as major actors and facilitators of commerce and trade in Nigeria, stating the ELTS offers them another gateway to expand their coast to West Africa and beyond.