About Us

This website was developed within the framework of an EU-funded technical assistance project (‘Development of Capacity and Framework at the ECOWAS Commission for monitoring investment climate') managed by the BizClim facility (http://acpbusinessclimate.org/about_us_page_1.html). The project's ultimate goal is to "facilitate the permanent and effective monitoring of the regional investment climate, aimed at ensuring its regular and sustained improvement".

The website is built upon a database of investment climate indicators, derived from a variety of sources and covering a variety of aspects impacting on business activity in the ECOWAS region. In particular, indicators have been grouped in four main headings, namely:

• Key Data;
• Overall Rankings and Ratings;
• Dimensions of Investment Climate;
• Cost of Production Factors.

Each heading is further subdivided into several sub headings.

The analysis of investment climate indicators is expected to improve the understanding of factors impacting on business activity and conditions in the ECOWAS region. This will allow the carrying out of thematic analyses on selected topics, which in turn will allow to identify relevant policy lessons for decision makers. The website is also intended to provide information to operators, be thy foreigners or from ECOWAS countries, through the provision of information on several important topics, such as the cost of production factors.

The selection of indicators and the design of the database was performed by Economisti Associati (http://www.economistiassociati.com/), working on contract with BizClim. The consultants benefited from the suggestions and support provided by BizClim, the ECOWAS Commission and investment promotion agencies and other stakeholders in some ECOWAS countries. The list of indicators and overall structure of the database and website was discussed and approved at a Validation Meeting organized by the ECOWAS Commission which was held in Abuja on 14 and 15 May 2009.