Directory of Economic, Commodity and Development Organizations - table of contents

FUND FOR CO-OPERATION,
COMPENSATION AND DEVELOPMENT (ECOWAS FUND)



HEADQUARTERS



Avenue du 13 Janvier                                          Postal Add:  B.P. 2704
Lomé                                                          Telephone:   [228]221-6864
Togo                                                          Facsimile:   [228]221-8684
                                                              Telex:       5339 CEDEAO TO
                                                              E-mail:      fund@ecowas-fund.org

          Acting Managing Director:         ...    Barthélémy D. DRABO
          Acting Deputy Managing Director:  ...    Gottfried E.O. MANIESON

                                   Senior Officials

          Director of Studies and Planning: ...    Barthélémy D. DRABO
          Legal Adviser:                    ...    Gottfried  E.O. MANIESON
          Treasurer:                        ...    Bashir M. IFO
          Director of Finance:              ...    Mohamed DIALLO
          Director of Operations:           ...    Ousmane BOCOUM
          Acting Director of Communication: ...    Jacques François TOKPLO
          Acting Director of Administration:...    Joseph ZOCLI
          Acting Internal Auditor:          ...    Philippe KABORE
          




LANGUAGES:  English, French


ESTABLISHMENT AND FUNCTIONS



The Fund for Co-operation, Compensation and Development (ECOWAS FUND) was established on 28 May 1975 and became operational in 1979. The institution is currently owned by 15 Member States instead of 16 following the withdrawal of Mauritania in December 2000. They are: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. Its nominal capital is fixed at US $ 500 million of which US $ 100 million has been called and fully subscribed. The Board of Directors of the Fund comprises 15 Ministers responsible for ECOWAS affairs. They meet at least four times in a year. The Board is responsible for the formulation of the policies of the Fund and also approves its operating and investment budgets. The Chairman of the Board is elected on rotational basis among the Member States.

ECOWAS FUND derives its resources from contributions from Member States, income from loans and placements, as well as lines of credit from financial partners.

It operates a compensation fund which is used to provide assistance to Member States that incur losses as a result of the implementation of the trade liberalization scheme. Other activities of the Fund are:


	
  • provision of guarantees in respect of foreign investments made in Member States of the Community;
    • 
	
  • financing of public and private projects in Member States;
    • 
	
  • promotion of economic development in the least developed Member States of the Community through equity participation.
    • 

    TRANSFORMATION OF THE FUND
    

    As part of measures to enhance its financial resources, the owners of ECOWAS FUND have decided to open up its capital to regional and non-regional partners. At their Summit held from 9 to 10 December, 1999 in Lome, Togo, the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Community approved the transformation of the Fund into a Regional Bank to be known as ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), with two subsidiaries namely:

    
	
  • ECOWAS Regional Investment Bank (ERIB);
    •  
	
  • ECOWAS Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
    • 

    ERIB is to focus on private sector financing while ERDF will deal with public sector financing.

    The Holding Company, ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) is to inherit the assets of the existing Fund. All the existing obligations of the Fund are however expected to be apportioned between the holding company and the ECOWAS Regional Development Fund which will inherit most of the activities of the current ECOWAS Fund.

    The Executives who have been appointed for the new ECOWAS Bank for Investment and development and its two subsidiaries are:

    
	
  • Mr. Christian Narcisse ADOVELANDE, President of the ECOWAS bank for Investment   and Development (EBID);

    • 
	
  • Mr. Barthélémy D. DRABO, Managing Director of the ECOWAS Regional Development Fund (ERDF); and

    • 
	
  • Mr.	Martial Koffi KOUAKOU, Managing Director of the ECOWAS Regional Investment Bank (ERIB).

    • 

    The establishment of the structures of the new institutions is on-going . They are expected to be fully operational as soon as the ratification of the Protocol of EBID by at least nine (9) Member States is executed.

    COMPOSITION
    

    15 member states::  Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo

    STRUCTURE
    

    Fifteen Ministers of Planning, Trade, Integration or Finance from each Member State compose the Board of Directors, which meets at least four times a year.  The Board is responsible for formulation of policy for the Fund, and approves its operational and investment budgets.  The Chairman is elected on a rotational basis among the Member States.


    UPDATED:  June 13, 2002
    

    

    Directory of Economic, Commodity and Development Organizations - table of contents