SWARIP is a trust fund financed by the United Kingdom government, through its Department for International Development (DFID), and managed by the World Bank. Its objective is to support regional economic integration in West Africa by developing and disseminating new evidence on the impact of and obstacles to the integration process. This is expected to (i) inform policymakers in West African countries and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) and the West Africa Monetary Zone (WAMZ); (ii) influence programs of the Bank and other donors to address the most critical bottlenecks to integration; and (iii) foster the dialogue between these and other relevant stakeholders, such as the private sector, media, and civil society.
This program was launched in early 2013 with a three-year timeframe. Since then, SWARIP has brought support to a variety of analytical activities covering a broad range of issues, including regional trade in food staples, trade and transport facilitation, regional cooperation in higher education and the impact of regional integration on poverty. Other topics will be added as the work program expands, such as informal trade, trade in services, customs performances, or the implementation of the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (CET). In elaborating this program, the focus is put on selected issues which (i) are at the core of the current strategies and needs of the RECs and their members, (ii) are part of the World Bank’s own strategic priorities and (iii) can have the highest impact in terms of growth opportunities and poverty alleviation in the region.
Outputs of projects supported by SWARIP, as well as other documents, information or events related to regional integration in West Africa, will be regularly be posted on this page. For more information on SWARIP and the activity it supports, please contact Jean-Christophe Maur (jmaur@worldbank.org) and Antoine Coste (acoste@worldbank.org).