Inaugural ECOWAS Competition Conference 2026 Recap

From 15 to 17 September 2026, the ECOWAS Regional Competition Authority (ERCA) held its inaugural competition conference at its seat in Banjul, The Gambia. The conference brought together representatives of regulators and other stakeholders from the ECOWAS region and across greater Africa. Beyond raising awareness. it served to exchange experiences on competition law enforcement and merger control, and to discuss future developments. Contributions from the different regulators provided insight into their views and the level of cooperation on the continent.

A central theme across all contributions was the level of cooperation among regional and domestic regulators. Several ERCA representatives — including Dr. Simeon Konan Koffi, Executive Director of the ERCA — stressed the importance of cooperation with domestic regulators in the ECOWAS region and with other regional regulators in Africa. So far, no formal cooperation procedures have been established. However, the ERCA is actively