SENRGAL, 03 Oct. - (ANA) - For over two decades, West African countries have had a project for a common currency, the Eco, to strengthen trade and regional integration. It has been promoted repeatedly, but so far, not launched.

 

Plans for the Eco, have been pushed back for decades, despite the opportunities a united currency would offer Africa on the global stage, Aminata Niang, a visiting fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank, writes. 

 

Disagreements generally lie between countries in one of two camps: those that currently use the CFA franc, which is pegged to the euro, and those that have their own national currencies. 

 

“Without that decisive leadership… the currency union project will continue to struggle to materialise and the benefits to trade and economic integration will go unclaimed,” Niang warns.

 

Since its creation, one of the main stated purposes of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has been to create a common currency for its members.

 

The current target for the currency to launch in 2027. The Eco currency project is a test case for West Africa’s ambition for greater economic sovereignty and regional economic integration. The common currency project has been complicated by three main factors: differences in the economic realities of each country, the current use of different currencies, and the role that France could play in the future currency.   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/03 October 2025  - - -