Front-line management staff from ECOWAS member countries are undergoing a training to strengthen the competitiveness of West African countries and enhance their integration into the regional and international trading system.
The 5-day workshop is expected to help the participants identify the most crucial service delivery aims in a project while keeping in mind organizational limits in resources and capabilities.
Speaking during the opening ceremony in Abuja, Executive Secretary, NEPC, Ezra Yakusak, emphasized that the training was an opportunity for participants to build competence in handling multi-task assignment with impactful result.
He implored the participants to take advantage of the best practices and expressed thanks to the stakeholders for their commitment in ensuring the sustainability of the Network.
Speaking on behalf of the ECOWAS Commission, Kolawole Sofola highlighted the importance of the network in accessing new markets and establishing a linkage between local and international markets and in value chain as targeted in WACOMP.
He added that the training will reinforce the Networks capabilities in formulating monitoring and reporting on projects following best practices in project management cycle.
Representative of the European Union, Charles Okafor, during his remarks, asserted that such trainings would help managers develop planning tools that would be useful for impact measurement.
He reiterated the European Union’s continuous commitment in strengthening trade in the region especially through regional programmes such as WACOMP.
ITC’s Senior Programme Officer, Miyoba Lubemba also underscored the importance of the TPO network in achieving economic growth.
Furthermore, she highlighted the essential role of the Network in reducing poverty by enhancing the competitiveness of enterprises in a national and regional trade support ecosystem.
She added that the week’s training, on Results Based Management oriented Project Cycle Management will equip participants with the skills to optimise limited resources and achieve trade impact.
The workshop aims to equip the Networks technical staff with sustainable practices in programming, identification, formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation as well as reporting. With a focus on giving technical staff the tools to ensure effective decision making throughout the project management cycle.
The workshop is coordinated by the ECOWAS Commission alongside the International Trade Centre (ITC) as part of the West Africa Competitiveness programme (WACOMP).
The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) hosts the Executive Secretariat of the ECOWAS TPO Network,
