Since April 1, 2026, Lomé has been hosting a training workshop for managers of Very Small and Medium-sized Industries (VSMIs) on the procedures for obtaining ECOWAS/WAEMU approval. This is an initiative of the Directorate for VSMI Development, in collaboration with GIZ.

For three days, the training workshop for VSMI managers aims to be a framework for exchanges and reflection, seeking to train industrialists on the new ECOWAS rules of origin and some specific aspects of WAEMU, in order to provide them with the texts relating to approved industrial products.

Obtaining community approvals in Togo constitutes a strategic lever for the integration of Very Small and Medium-sized Industries (VSMIs) into the regional market of over 350 million consumers. According to the organizers of this workshop, approval allows products manufactured in Togo to circulate duty-free within the community area, provided their local origin is proven. However, the current system presents structural challenges that hinder the competitiveness of these businesses.

The training workshop aims to support these stakeholders, with a focus on women entrepreneurs operating in the agro-industrial sector, with a view to obtaining approvals. Specifically, it aims to inform industrialists about obstacles to the free movement of goods, people, and capital, to identify needs with VSMIs, and to introduce them to the platform dedicated to issuing community certificates of origin.