West Africa faces significant trade challenges, including aging infrastructure, inefficient customs processes, and high logistics costs that hinder regional and international trade. The high transport delays and costs, as well as non-tariff barriers, limit their competitiveness in global markets. Against this backdrop, UNCTAD has conducted a technical cooperation project and assigned to ECOPER its final evaluation.
The UNCTAD project titled “Facilitation of Transit, Transport, and Trade in West Africa for Better Participation in Value Chains” was funded by the Enhanced Integrated Framework of the World Trade Organization and run between August 2020 and June 2024. UNCTAD provided support to Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Togo in simplifying customs and border regulations, enhancing coordination of cross-border transport operations, and improving legislative and regulatory practices to boost regional and international trade. Its final aim was to stimulate inclusive of economic development (SDG 8) and facilitate the integration of Least Developed Contries (LDCs) into global value chains (SDG 17).
ECOPER was in charge of the final evaluation of this project, including the conduct of an online survey, a comprehensive review of project documents, semi-structured interviews with national authorities in Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Togo, as well as interviews with experts from UNCTAD, WTO, and the World Bank. The assignment started with the reconstruction of the project theory of change, which guided the assessment of the project’s relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, and impact.
The evaluation concluded that the project successfully laid the groundwork for significant improvements in transit and trade facilitation in the region. Key recommendations include continuing the programme to build on the progress made, enhancing project design to better align with local needs, and improving monitoring mechanisms to ensure timely and effective implementation. These recommendations aim to sustain the project’s positive impact and support the ongoing development of efficient and integrated value chains in West Africa.
ECOPER has been providing evaluation services to UNCTAD since 2018, including the high-level of the ‘Globalization, Interdependence, and Development’ subprogramme submitted to the UNCTAD 84th Working Party in October 2022.