ECOWAS Launches SIGMAT -Boosts Trade Facilitation in Liberia, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire

By Matthew Turry

MONROVIA – The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission has launched the Interconnected System of Goods in Transit Management (SIGMAT) in Liberia, Guinea, and Côte d’Ivoire.

The system aims to simplify and enhance trade connectivity across West Africa, promoting regional economic integration and digitalization.

According to ECOWAS Resident Representative to Liberia, Ambassador Josephine Nkrumah, the launch of SIGMAT is a major step in the community’s efforts to overhaul the entire transit arrangement in West Africa.

“With the electronic exchange of transit messages and the availability of advance cargo information, Customs administrations involved in a transit operation have control over the transit regime to minimize cargo diversion and its attendant negative effects,” she said.

The SIGMAT platform enables faster processing of transit goods, improves transparency, and promotes regional economic integration by linking customs systems across member countries.

Liberia Revenue Authority Commissioner for Customs, Saa Saamoi, noted that the implementation of SIGMAT demonstrates the country’s commitment to regional integration, trade facilitation, and digital transformation of customs.

Liberia’s Deputy Minister for Commerce and Trade Services, Wilmot A. Reeves, stated that the launch of SIGMAT aligns with the national development agenda, which emphasizes economic transformation through digitalization.

The ECOWAS Commission, with support from the European Union and the government of Germany, has been working to deploy SIGMAT across the region. Almost all ECOWAS member states have installed SIGMAT in their customs systems, with a few yet to operationalize it.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission has over the weekend convened a technical meeting of experts in information and communication technology (ICT) and customs transit from the countries of Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea and Liberia, and subsequently launched and deployed the Interconnected System of Goods in Transit Management (SIGMAT), from October 30-31 2025 in Monrovia, Liberia.

The two-day SIGMAT strategic meeting in Monrovia brought together customs experts from Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, and Guinea to advance the rollout of the System Interconnected Management of Goods in Transit (SIGMAT).

In a statement on behalf of the ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture Dr. Kalilou Sylla, ECOWAS Resident Representative to Liberia Amb Josephine Nkrumah said, “The role of an efficient transit regime in the facilitation of international trade is borne out by numerous international instruments.”

She noted that the ECOWAS Revised Treaty, the Revised Kyoto Convention and the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade Facilitation underscore the importance of the transit regime whilst advocating for its simplification and efficiency.

“As a community therefore, our economic integration depends largely on how efficiently goods cross our various borders from one member state to another, and this is where the management of transit becomes very critical to the economic development of our community,” she noted, adding that as Heads of Customs administrations in your respective countries, “you are well aware not only of the importance of transit, but also the challenges associated with every suspense regime. The challenges of transit affect government revenue and industry and pose significant danger to national and regional security and stability.”

Continuing, she said: “As part of transit reforms, the Community launched the automated regional transit solution known as the interconnected system for the management of goods in transit (SIGMAT) in Abidjan in 2019 and adopted the regulatory framework through the Supplementary Act on ECOWAS Community transit in December 2021.

“The launch of SIGMAT and the subsequent progressive deployment in member states represent a major step in the efforts of the community to overhaul the entire transit arrangement in West Africa with the view to making it more efficient and attractive to the private sector, international investor community and the customs administrations in the region.”

She told the gathering that with the electronic exchange of transit messages and the availability of advance cargo information, Customs administrations involved in a transit operation have control over the transit regime to minimize cargo diversion and its attendant negative effects.”

“SIGMAT is a home-grown solution to address community challenges. I am happy to note that almost all ECOWAS member states have installed SIGMAT in their Customs systems with a few yet to operationalize it,” she said. “The full benefits of SIGMAT can be obtained when all member states have installed and deployed the transit solution along all the transit corridors in the region.”

The ECOWAS Envoy expressed gratitude by saying, “I would like to salute the efforts of the DG of Customs of Cote d’lvoire, General DA Pierre Alphonse and his administration, for the pioneering role and the collaboration with the ECOWAS Commission in the deployment of SIGMAT throughout the Community.

She also commend the Directors General of Customs of Liberia and Guinea for working tirelessly to ensure that the trade corridors linking the three member states are fully interconnected to facilitate trade.

“The deployment of SIGMAT between Cote d’lvoire, Guinea and Liberia today, is a testament to the fact that ECOWNAS is concerned about all trade corridors in the region and will continue to support all member states in their efforts to achieve full connectivity and enhance the fluidity of cross-border trade along transit corridors in the Community,” she said.

For his part, the Commissioner for Customs at the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) Saa Saamoi said the launch of the System Interconnected Management of Goods in Transit (SIGMAT) mark a significant milestone not only for the Liberian Customs, but also for the broader ECOWAS region as they take a decisive step towards modernizing and harmonizing our transit systems.

“Through this initiative, Liberia join our sister administration of the Republic of Guinea and Cote d’lVoire in adopting and deploying the platform for managing goods and transit. A system designed to enhance transparency, reduce clearance time, and strengthen boarder management and trade security,” he noted.

Commissioner Saa Saamoi said the implementation of SIGMAT in Liberia demonstrates our commitment to regional integration, trade facilitation, and the digital transformation of customs.

“My appreciation to our partners, the ECOWAS Commission, European Union, the government of the Federal Republic of Germany, for their continue technical and financial support in making this project a reality,” he asserted.

“The collaboration underscore the share vision of building a connected, efficient, execute trade corridor across West Africa.”

Also speaking at the program was Deputy Commerce Minister for Commerce and Trade Services Wilmot A Reeves noted that the launch of the platform SIGMAT basically is in same with the national development agenda of this country.

“In the AAID, the first pillow basically economic transformation, and as part of the effort to economically transform this country is to basically go digital in many of our services that we offer, and this sort of interconnected customs system that is been introduce and launched here today is something that is in same with the government development,” he said.

The launch of the System Interconnected  Management of Goods in Transit (SIGMAT) developed by ECOWAS, serves as a digital customs data exchange platform that enables faster processing of transit goods, improves transparency, and promotes regional economic integration by linking customs systems across member countries.

Introduced in 2019, the deployment of the System Interconnected Management of Goods in Transit  SIGMAT initiative gained further momentum following the adoption of the Supplementary Act on ECOWAS Community Transit in December 2021.

The SIGMAT platform, an automated system designed to simplify and enhance trade connectivity across West Africa forms part of ECOWAS’ broader strategy to promote regional digitalization, strengthen trade facilitation, and drive economic integration across West Africa.