ECOWAS appoints Dangote as the face of its new strategy to mobilise African capital for regional development

ECOWAS has placed Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, at the heart of its new strategy to rebuild economic resilience and reduce the region’s dependence on foreign capital. 

At the opening of the 95th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers in Abuja, ECOWAS Commission President Omar Touray announced that Dangote will serve as the pioneer Chairperson of the ECOWAS Business Council, a move that signals a decisive shift toward private-sector-led regional integration.

Touray explained that Dangote was selected because of his vast investment footprint across West Africa and his proven capacity to mobilise large-scale capital within the continent. He described the new Business Council as a platform that will bring major industry leaders directly into ECOWAS’ economic decision-making process, helping shape policies on investment, regional trade, and integration.

“We are confident that with the kind of investments we have seen from the likes of Alhaji Dangote, our regional private sector actors can lead the way in developing our Community, if given the right incentives and opportunity,” Touray said. The Commission hopes that the initiative will spark deeper intra-regional investment, lessen reliance on volatile foreign funding, and move the bloc closer to economic self-sufficiency.

Touray linked this shift to ongoing challenges in critical sectors, particularly the financially strained West African Power Pool, which he described as the region’s flagship of electricity market currently burdened by debts owed by national utilities. He urged member states to commit to debt recovery and improved financial discipline as part of the broader effort to stabilise the regional economy.

While Dangote’s appointment dominated the session, Touray also outlined ECOWAS' wider priorities: strengthening regional resilience, deepening monetary integration, and advancing plans to operationalise a regional standby force to respond to terrorism and insecurity.

In placing Dangote at the helm of its new Business Council, ECOWAS is betting on a future where homegrown investors help shape the region’s economic destiny. The coming months will test how effectively the bloc can harmonise its political ambitions with private-sector dynamism, but officials remain confident that the partnership offers a credible path toward greater stability, integration, and shared prosperity across West Africa.