Discussions on the proposed Eco common currency for West Africa have gathered momentum following a high-level meeting of central bank governors and finance ministers from ECOWAS member states in Monrovia, Liberia.
Despite encouraging progress by most countries in meeting the economic requirements for the currency’s launch, no final decision has yet been taken on when the Eco will officially come into circulation.
Sources familiar with the development disclosed over the weekend that the Monrovia meeting, held about two weeks ago, reviewed the level of compliance with the region’s economic convergence criteria—benchmarks set to ensure macroeconomic stability before adopting a shared currency.
According to insiders, 10 out of the 12 ECOWAS member states have already met the key primary conditions required for the currency’s rollout.
These primary criteria include maintaining a budget deficit of no more than three per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), keeping the annual average inflation rate at or below five per cent, limiting central bank financing of government deficits to 10 per cent of the previous year’s tax revenue, and maintaining external reserves sufficient to cover at least three months of imports.
In addition to these benchmarks, countries are also expected to meet secondary conditions such as keeping public debt below 70 per cent of nominal GDP and ensuring that national currencies do not fluctuate by more than 10 per cent against the West African Unit of Account.
These measures are designed to guarantee that participating economies are sufficiently stable to operate under a single monetary system.
However, a source close to the Monrovia discussions said the progress report has not yet been formally presented to ECOWAS Heads of State, who will ultimately decide when the regional currency will be launched.
“The ECOWAS institutions met in Liberia two weeks ago to review the convergence criteria established by the Heads of State for August 2027,” the source explained.
“If most member countries meet the conditions by that date, they can begin using the Eco, while others join later once they satisfy the requirements. This is similar to the European Union model.”
The Eco currency project is intended to boost intra-regional trade, strengthen economic integration, and reduce dependence on foreign currencies in cross-border transactions across West Africa.
Official figures indicate that many countries achieved improvements in key targets—particularly budget deficit reductions and lower inflation rates—towards the end of 2025.
Officials attribute these gains to fiscal reforms aimed at boosting government revenues, controlling public spending, and improving coordination between fiscal and monetary policies.
Inflationary pressures across the region have also eased, supported by tighter monetary policies, relatively stable exchange rates, and improved food supply conditions.
Performance on the secondary convergence criteria has similarly been encouraging. Public debt levels have declined in several countries, while most national currencies have remained within the permitted exchange rate range.
Data reviewed at the Liberia meeting showed that 11 member states maintained exchange rate stability against the West African Unit of Account during the first half of last year.
However, officials acknowledged that global shocks slowed progress in some countries.
“After COVID-19, additional challenges such as geopolitical tensions and structural economic pressures made it difficult for some nations to meet the convergence criteria,” another source said.
Nevertheless, the regional outlook appears to be improving as governments roll out economic reforms.
“What we are seeing across the region now is growing stability. Many countries have introduced reforms that are beginning to deliver positive results,” the source added.
With these improvements, there is rising optimism that most ECOWAS members could meet the economic benchmarks ahead of the August 2027 deadline, after which the region’s Heads of State will determine the next steps for launching the Eco currency.
Experts say the coming months will be critical in determining whether West Africa’s long-planned single currency finally moves from policy discussions to reality.