Build a Platform That Makes Cross-Border Trade Easier for West African SMEs

The ECOWAS free trade agreement theoretically allows goods to move freely across 15 West African countries. In practice, SME exporters face undocumented levies, long border delays, confusing customs documentation, and no digital system that connects the pieces. Your challenge is to build or design a platform that reduces the friction of cross-border trade between Nigeria and at least one neighbouring ECOWAS country for SMEs exporting goods worth ₦500,000 to ₦10 million per shipment. Submit a working product, prototype, or detailed specification covering: the documentation workflow, how border payments are handled, how delays are tracked and escalated, which government systems need to integrate, and a plan for onboarding 100 SMEs in year one. Judging criteria: 35% friction reduction impact, 30% product quality, 25% integration feasibility, 10% go-to-market.