The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) presented its Interconnected System for the Management of Goods in Transit (SIGMAT) at the World Customs Organization (WCO) 2026 Technology Conference, which took place from January 28 to 30 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The conference focused on “Customs Agility in a Complex World: Securing and Facilitating Trade through Innovation,” drawing more than 1,500 participants from customs administrations, industry, and technology sectors.
Representing ECOWAS was Mrs. Aissata Yameogo Koffi, Principal Programme Officer for Tariffs and Customs Regimes. She detailed the progress of SIGMAT since its inception, discussed institutional, legal, and technical challenges encountered during implementation, and outlined solutions adopted by the Commission.
She said: “She also shared with participants the forward-looking roadmap for SIGMAT, which includes further upgrades of the central system, the gradual enhancement of risk management mechanisms, the expansion of transit scenarios aligned with regional customs regimes, broader deployment of mobile and field-based capabilities, and the integration of a regional guarantee management system. This presentation provided a practical and scalable blueprint on how regional digital interoperability can accelerate customs clearance, reduce border frictions and strengthen trust between administrations and trade operators.”
ECOWAS reiterated its aim to modernize customs procedures through automation to facilitate trade according to international standards. The organization noted that reviewing existing procedures is necessary to harmonize and simplify them across member states. SIGMAT is positioned as a core solution for achieving comprehensive digitalization and cross-border connectivity within ECOWAS.
Since launching SIGMAT in 2019, member states using the system have reported significant improvements in transit procedures at national levels. Interest in adopting SIGMAT has extended beyond ECOWAS countries into other regions.
In recent years, ECOWAS has led efforts around technical design, phased rollout, operational stabilization of SIGMAT among several member states with an emphasis on harmonizing processes regionally. Activities have included onsite deployments; structured testing; simulations between customs agencies; capacity building; training for both customs officers and IT staff; all aimed at strengthening transit operations.
Along key corridors within West Africa—where ECOWAS coordinates programs among twelve countries—the use of SIGMAT has advanced from pilot phases to full operation. Continuous enhancements are being made to improve reliability and governance structures supporting these systems.
A central part of this ecosystem is the ongoing implementation of the SIGMAT e-Hub by ECOWAS. This hub provides secure infrastructure for electronic data exchange between member state customs authorities enabling interoperable corridor operations as well as bilateral or multilateral cooperation.
According to information published on the official website, ECOWAS works toward cooperation among member states by harmonizing policies related to trade—including through mechanisms like common external tariffs—and other sectors such as transport or social development. The Commission’s leadership structure consists of a president supported by vice presidents and commissioners (source). Efforts also include expanding programs across West Africa while increasing transparency via initiatives like their multilingual website launched in 2022 (source).