The West African population is growing at an extremely rapid pace, with about 400 million people between 2020 and 2025 and over 500 million people between 2030 and 2035. This population growth is currently one of the main challenges in the region in terms of social infrastructure (work, food and housing). Coupled with the rising middle class, this growth is also a business opportunity.
This session will explore the following questions: How to ensure democratic governance of regional integration to take into account Cape Verde’s specificity and the interests of small states? How to involve the private sector in the integration agenda? How to integrate the West African market, establishing, for example, common licensing and regulatory procedures to allow companies to operate without regard to borders? How to make it easier for West African companies to work together regardless of borders? How to encourage partnerships and joint ventures
