𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲, 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐏 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭

Monrovia, Liberia – October 7, 2026 - The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) has held a high-level meeting with a delegation from the World Bank to advance discussions on the implementation of a major digital entrepreneurship and market integration initiative under the 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 (𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐏).

The meeting brought together senior officials of the Ministry, the World Bank Group, and representatives of the Liberia Business Association (LiBA), with discussions focused on strengthening Liberia's digital business ecosystem, supporting startups and entrepreneurs, expanding e-commerce, and creating opportunities for Liberian businesses to access markets across the ECOWAS region.

Discussions centered on the implementation of 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫: 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: under WARDIP, through which an estimated US$2.5 million has been earmarked to support digital startups, entrepreneurs, innovation, and business growth in Liberia. The component will be implemented by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in close collaboration with the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and other relevant stakeholders.

A flagship initiative under the component is Digital Growth Week (DG Week), which is designed to provide support to startups, early-stage enterprises, digital entrepreneurs, and innovators. The initiative is expected to facilitate capacity building, networking, innovation, business development, and access to regional markets, with the broader objective of enabling Liberian digital businesses to scale beyond the domestic market and compete within the ECOWAS region.

The project places particular emphasis on women-led businesses, with approximately 40 percent of the beneficiaries expected to be women-led enterprises. This focus reflects the Government and development partners' commitment to promoting inclusive entrepreneurship and expanding economic opportunities for women.

The meeting also highlighted the importance of developing Liberia's e-commerce ecosystem as an integral part of the country's digital transformation agenda. In addition to the Digital Market Integration component, WARDIP includes a dedicated allocation for e-commerce development, which will complement interventions aimed at strengthening online businesses, digital trade, and access to technology-enabled markets.

Stakeholders emphasized the importance of coordinating these interventions with ongoing efforts in digital skills development, technological innovation, and private-sector development to ensure that Liberia's emerging entrepreneurs possess the skills, tools, and market opportunities necessary to build sustainable businesses. This initiative is expected to contribute to 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧'𝐬 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲.

The 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 (𝐈𝐅𝐂) is also expected to provide technical and private-sector expertise in support of startups and the development of activities under DG Week. Stakeholders further underscored the importance of viewing the various interventions—including digital entrepreneurship, e-commerce, digital skills development, and market integration—as a coordinated package rather than isolated activities.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry welcomed the collaboration and reaffirmed its commitment to working with the World Bank Group, IFC, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, LiBA, and other strategic partners to create an enabling environment for entrepreneurship, innovation, private-sector development, and digital trade.

The Ministry noted that strengthening Liberia's digital business ecosystem is essential to expanding economic opportunities for young people, women, startups, and small businesses, while positioning Liberian enterprises to take advantage of the growing ECOWAS regional market.

The WARDIP initiative therefore represents an important step toward advancing Liberia's digital economy and supporting the Government's broader efforts to promote inclusive economic growth, entrepreneurship, innovation, and sustainable employment.