Knowledge Base

Climate change poses an existential threat to West Africa, where economies remain heavily dependent on rain-fed agriculture and natural resources. This publication provides a systematic review of National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) across the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region.

Key findings indicate that while all 14 countries have developed climate policies, only 30% have allocated dedicated budgets for implementation. The infrastructure gap is estimated at $15 billion annually through 2030.

Women in the Sahel face compounded barriers to economic participation, including limited access to credit, property rights constraints, and social norms. This research draws on surveys of 5,000 women entrepreneurs across five countries.

Key findings show that mobile money access increased business revenues by 34%, while land tenure reform led to a 28% increase in agricultural investment by women.

Africa has some of the world's best renewable energy resources, yet renewable sources account for less than 10% of grid-connected electricity. This publication identifies technical barriers—including grid stability, storage capacity, and transmission infrastructure—and proposes policy solutions.

Case studies from South Africa's REIPPP programme, Morocco's Noor solar complex, Kenya's geothermal expansion, and Nigeria's off-grid solar revolution provide actionable insights.

The AfCFTA represents the world's largest free trade area by number of countries. This research analyses trade data from 2021-2025 to assess early impacts, finding that intra-African trade has grown by 18% among early-implementing countries.

The study identifies key sectors benefiting most: agriculture (34% growth), textiles (27%), and manufactured goods (22%). Challenges remain in services trade liberalisation and rules of origin harmonisation.

Africa's health systems have faced unprecedented pressure from multiple disease outbreaks. This publication synthesises lessons from the Africa CDC's response frameworks and national health system adaptations.

The analysis emphasises the importance of investing in primary health care, strengthening supply chains for essential medicines, and building local manufacturing capacity for vaccines and diagnostics.

Sub-Saharan Africa has emerged as a global leader in mobile money adoption, with over 500 million registered accounts as of 2024. This research examines the regulatory landscape across 20 countries, identifying barriers to scale and proposing policy reforms.

The study draws on case studies from Kenya (M-Pesa), Nigeria (Paystack), and Ghana (ExpressPay) to illustrate the transformative potential of digital finance.

The annual review of research activities, publications, and policy engagements of the Institute for West African Economic Studies for the year 2025.

A comprehensive policy framework document outlining the new trade integration strategies adopted by ECOWAS member states for the 2026–2030 period.

0.74 correlation between Fragile States Index and conflict density.