West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Assembly (WATRA) has stressed the importance of a unified digital market across the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region.

WATRA said this would unlock investment, drive innovation, and create inclusive digital opportunities for over 400 million Africans occupying the space.

WATRA Executive Secretary, Aliyu Yusuf Aboki, stated this yesterday at the opening of the third meeting of WATRA’s Working Groups in Accra, Ghana.
Aboki, who said consistent, coordinated regulation was key to unlocking investment, innovation, and growth in the region’s digital economy, emphasised that a harmonised regulatory space would turn West Africa into a coherent, unified digital market attractive to global and regional investors.

“WATRA is not just facilitating dialogue; we are laying the foundation for a seamless regional market where innovation and investment can thrive. This meeting in Accra reflects our collective determination to build regulatory infrastructure that enables inclusion, trust, and scale,” he stated.

Hosted by Ghana’s National Communications Authority (NCA), the four-day session brings together telecom regulators, private sector leaders, development partners, and digital policy experts to share knowledge and experiences and develop recommendations that will refine regional frameworks in three key areas: consumer experience, infrastructure development, and cybersecurity.

Aboki noted that by aligning rules and standards across borders, harmonisation expands the effective size of the market available to telecom operators, fintechs, digital platforms, and infrastructure investors.

Ghana’s Acting Director-General of the NCA, Edmund Yirenkyi Fianko, expressed support for the harmonisation effort, citing Ghana’s leadership in ECOWAS free roaming and regional cybersecurity frameworks.