ECOWAS Launches Pilot on Economic Empowerment, Digital Peacebuilding for Benue State Women

Speaking at the opening ceremony, ECOW- AS Director Dr. Sintiki Tarfa-Ugbe described the pilot as a strategic platform for empowering women-led organizations to implement and advocate for durable solutions, while leveraging digital technologies for inclusion, resilience, and peace.

ABUJA, Nigeria, February 10, 2026/ — The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), through its Directorate of Trade and the Directorate of Humanitarian and Social Affairs, has partnered with the Benue State Government to implement a pilot project on economic empowerment and digital peacebuilding for Women, Peace and Security (WPS) community-based organizations in Benue State, North-Central Nigeria.

The initiative was launched alongside a five-day capacity-building programme scheduled for 9–13 February, which features a Training of Trainers (ToT) for 12 participants drawn from community-based organizations (CBOs), civil society organizations (CSOs), and internally displaced persons (IDP) camps. This will be followed by step-down trainings reaching 60 women and girls from selected IDP camps and host communities.

The pilot responds to protracted humanitarian and displacement challenges in Benue State and aligns with the Benue State Durable Solutions Action Plan, which promotes sustainable reintegration of IDPs through improved livelihoods, peacebuilding, and community resilience.

WPS community-based organizations play a critical role in mobilizing women and girls, advancing peacebuilding, and strengthening social cohesion in conflict-affected communities.

The initiative seeks to enhance their institutional and technical capacity while equipping conflict-affected women and girls with practical economic and digital skills.

Anchored in the ECOWAS Vision 2050 and the Trade and Gender Action Plan, as well as the ECOWAS E-Commerce Strategy (2023), the project integrates economic empowerment, digital literacy, and digital peacebuilding through a cascade ToT approach. Trained WPS organizations will deliver step-down sessions within IDP camps and host communities.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, ECOWAS Director Dr. Sintiki Tarfa-Ugbe described the pilot as a strategic platform for empowering women-led organizations to implement and advocate for durable solutions, while leveraging digital technologies for inclusion, resilience, and peace.

In her remarks, the Secretary to the Benue State Government, Barrister Aber Serumum Deborah, commended ECOWAS for the initiative, noting that it will strengthen grassroots peacebuilding, enhance women’s participation in implementing the State’s Durable Solutions Action Plan, and support livelihood recovery for conflict-affected women and girls.

The pilot will be implemented over two months, beginning with preparation and module adaptation, followed by training delivery, monitoring, and documentation. It is expected to gen- erate a scalable model for replication across ECOWAS Member States.