Accra, Ghana. 25 April 2025 – TradeMark Africa (TMA), with funding from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), donated a range of IT equipment to the Elubo Border Management Committee to enhance the operational capacity of border agencies and promote more efficient trade between Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.
At a brief handing-over ceremony held at the forecourt of the Elubo border post, Mr. Peter A. Ofori, Deputy Commissioner of Customs in Charge of Preventive, and Mr. John Defor, Vice Chairperson of TMA’s Ghana National Oversight Committee, officially presented tablets, laptops, desktop computers, and printers to Assistant Commissioner of Customs Mr. Dan Louis Mennia, Sector Commander of the Elubo Border, on behalf of the border agencies. The IT equipment is intended to strengthen the capacity of border agencies to process and exchange customs, trade, and security-related data in real time with their Ivorian counterparts, significantly enhancing trade facilitation across the Ghana–Côte d’Ivoire border.
Speaking at the event, Mr. John Defor, who also represents the private sector on the Committee through the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), emphasised the importance of automating border procedures. He noted that digitisation is key to reducing the time and cost of cross-border trade for Ghanaian businesses. “This support will bolster the readiness of our border agencies and improve the efficiency of customs processing, which is vital for timely movement of goods across the region,” he said.
Receiving the equipment, Assistant Commissioner Mr. Dan Louis Mennia expressed deep appreciation to UK FCDO and TMA. He highlighted that the donation complemented their earlier support that expanded internet connectivity at the Elubo border. He assured stakeholders that the equipment would be equitably distributed among all border agencies to improve coordination and enhance operational efficiency. He further appealed to other development partners to support the proposed redevelopment and decongestion of the Elubo border as part of broader efforts to strengthen trade along the Abidjan–Lagos Corridor.
Dubbed the Abidjan–Lagos Gateway Project, the proposed initiative is inspired by the successful One Stop Border Post (OSBP) model in the East African Community (EAC). It seeks to re-engineer border processes and develop Elubo into a modern, integrated, and coordinated border post, reducing delays and transaction costs for traders.
The Government of Ghana expressed strong political support for the initiative in February 2025 when President H.E. John Mahama and Hon. Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare (MP), Minister of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry met with H.E. Hailemariam Desalegn Boshe, Chairperson of the TMA Board and former Prime Minister of Ethiopia, and Mr. David Beer, Chief Executive Officer of TMA. The Government reaffirmed its commitment to the project and urged TMA to prioritise the intervention. Reinforcing this commitment, Mr. Wilfred Essuman, TMA’s National Programme Coordinator, stated during a stakeholder validation meeting that TMA remains fully committed to supporting the Gateway Project under its West Africa Programme. “This intervention aligns with our broader goal of reducing trade barriers and boosting regional integration along the Abidjan–Lagos Corridor,” he said.
