WATRA Seeks Regulatory HarmonisationtoTransformW/Africa’s Fragmented Telecommunications Market

Emma Okonji

Worried about the different telecoms regulatory policies across West African countries and their implications for national growth, the Executive Secretary, West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Assembly (WATRA), Mr. Aliyu Yusuf Aboki, has reaffirmedWATRA’s commitment to promoting a harmonised digital policy and regulatory environment across West Africa.

Aboki saidregulatory harmonisationwill transform the fragmented national markets across West Africa into one larger and more investable region.

According to him, consistent and coordinated regulation is key to unlocking investment, innovation, and growth in the region’s digital economy.

Speaking at the opening of the third meeting of WATRA’s Working Groups in Accra, Ghana, Abokistressed that a harmonised regulatory space would turn West Africa into a coherent, unified digital market attractive to global and regional investors.

“WATRA is not just facilitating dialogue—we are laying the foundation for a seamless regional market where innovation and investment can thrive. This meeting in Accra reflects our collective determination to build regulatory infrastructure that enables inclusion, trust, and scale,”Aboki said.

Hosted by Ghana’s National Communications Authority (NCA), the four-day high-level session brought together telecoms regulators, private sector leaders, development partners, and digital policy experts to share knowledge and experiences and develop recommendations that would refine regional frameworks in three key areas: consumer experience, infrastructure development and cybersecurity.

Explaining how harmonisation can create a larger market for West Africa, Aboki said the ECOWAS region, which remained a home to over 400 million people, has immense potential as a single digital market, but lamented the divergent national regulations that have led to fragmented investment environments, increased compliance costs, and inefficiencies in service delivery across West African countries.

According to him, by aligning rules and standards across borders, harmonisationwill expand the effective size of the market available to telecoms operators, fintechs, digital platforms, and infrastructure investors, adding that instead of dealing with 16 different licensing regimes, spectrum policies, or consumer regulations, companies can scale more efficiently across the region, thus reducing costs and risks while increasing innovation and competition.

“Regulatory harmonisation transforms fragmented national markets into one larger, more investable region. It’s the gateway to building regional tech champions, improving affordability for consumers, and fostering resilient digital systems,”Aboki explained.

Explaining further why the Working Groups matter in the harmonising policies, Aboki said: “WATRA’s Working Groups on Consumer Access and Experience, Infrastructure Development, and Cybersecurity, are the assembly’s strategic engines for technical cooperation and reform. Under my leadership, they are designing regional frameworks that serve as models for national implementation.

“In the areas of consumer access and experience, they are enhancing consumer trust and fair service standards, increasing uptake of digital services and driving inclusive digital participation. In the area of infrastructure development, they are harmonising infrastructure policies, especially around spectrum allocation, satellite communications and sub-sea and terrestrial optical fibre, and also attracting investment in broadband, towers, and regional connectivity. For cybersecurity, they are establishing regional cyber standards that are critical to protecting users, safeguarding cross-border digital trade, and ensuring investor confidence.

“The Working Groups produce actionable, home-grown solutions that regulators can adapt to national contexts. They are where vision meets implementation.”

According to Aboki, West Africa’s telecommunications industry is a cornerstone of the region’s economic development. With over 250 million mobile subscribers, more than 120 million internet users, and nearly 15 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP coming from ICT, the sector plays a transformative role in commerce, education, governance, and job creation.Yet, the absence of harmonised rules continues to impede regional scale.

Abokitherefore stressed that the creation of a Single Digital Market (SDM) in West Africa could unlock billions of dollars in annual value, supporting seamless mobile roaming, digital financial inclusion, cross-border e-commerce, and regional cloud infrastructure.

The Accra meeting is expected to finalise recommendations and technical outputs for validation and adoption at WATRA’s next conference of regulators. The outcomes are expected to serve as shared regional standards for improving regulatory consistency while respecting each country’s unique context.

Ghana’s Acting Director-General of the NCA, Edmund YirenkyiFianko, expressed support for the harmonisation effort, citing Ghana’s leadership in ECOWAS free roaming and regional cybersecurity frameworks.