• The three countries have rolled out the ECOWAS electronic transit management platform.
• SIGMAT enables real-time data exchange to streamline cross-border trade.
• The system supports ECOWAS goals for regional integration and the AfCFTA agenda.

Guinea, Liberia, and Côte d’Ivoire have jointly implemented the Interconnected Goods Transit Management System (SIGMAT), an ECOWAS-developed electronic customs platform designed to simplify and secure regional trade. The system allows customs administrations to exchange transit data electronically, improving cargo traceability, safeguarding public revenue, and easing cross-border flows.

According to Joséphine Nkrumah, ECOWAS Commission resident representative in Liberia, the deployment marks “a major step toward the simplification and digitization of trade” in West Africa. She noted that the platform will enhance customs efficiency, shorten transit times, and make trade corridors more competitive through the use of information technologies.

SIGMAT is already operational on corridors involving Burkina Faso, Benin, Nigeria, Togo, Ghana, Guinea, and other West African countries.

Despite hosting several key trade corridors, West Africa continues to face complex customs procedures and high risks of fraud that hinder regional trade. The system forms part of ECOWAS’s strategy to streamline customs processes and advance regional economic integration.

As implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) progresses, the expansion of SIGMAT is expected to ensure smoother, safer, and more competitive trade across the continent.