GRFO20260001: Provision of Technical Assistance to Strengthen Civil Society Organizations to Lead Trade Policy Dialogue, Access to Market Transformation, and Evidence-Based Advocacy for Women Small-Scale Cross-Border Traders along the Abidjan-Lagos and Abidjan-Ouagadougou Corridors.

Deadline Update: Monday 7th September 2026 on or before 1200 Hrs (GHANA TIME)

The Abidjan–Lagos and Abidjan–Ouagadougou corridors are among West Africa’s most strategic trade and transport corridors, linking major economic centres, ports, production zones, and consumer markets across Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, and Burkina Faso. Together, the corridors play a critical role in advancing regional integration, facilitating implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and supporting the ECOWAS vision of increased intra-regional trade and economic development. However, despite their economic significance, cross-border trade along these corridors continues to be constrained by non-tariff barriers, cumbersome border procedures, inconsistent implementation of regional trade instruments, limited access to trade information, and weak mechanisms for structured public-private dialogue. These challenges disproportionately affect small-scale cross-border traders, particularly women, who constitute a significant share of informal and small-scale trade in the region.

The European Union under its strategic Global Gateway Support Project seeks to address these challenges. Along the Abidjan–Lagos and Abidjan–Ouagadougou corridors, and through TradeMark Africa, the project will implement a suite of trade facilitation interventions, which seeks to improve trade coordination, reduce trade barriers, and facilitate cross-border trade for small-scale traders. Recognising that improving the operating environment for small-scale cross-border traders requires more than physical infrastructure and regulatory reforms, the project aims at strengthening inclusive mechanisms through which traders can articulate challenges, access information, and influence policy and operational decisions affecting their businesses. Women small-scale cross-border traders face additional constraints including limited representation in policy processes, inadequate access to timely trade information, exposure to harassment and informal payments at border crossings, and limited capacity to effectively advocate for reforms affecting their businesses. To address these challenges, the project will establish structured multi-stakeholder dialogue and evidence-based advocacy mechanisms that enable women traders, public institutions, civil society organisations, and private sector actors to jointly identify, prioritise, and advocate for reforms that improve the cross-border trading environment. This assignment will contribute to creating a more inclusive, responsive, and trader-centred trade facilitation ecosystem along these corridors, thereby enhancing economic opportunities for women traders and supporting the broader objectives of regional integration and inclusive corridor development.