Nigeria, Comoros, Morocco and The Gambia and Portuguese speaking countries in the WCA region establish national pools of rules of origin experts with WCO support

• Over the past decade, there has been a proliferation of free trade agreements, with current statistics indicating that there were over 375 free trade agreements in force as at the end of 2025.
• Strengthening technical knowledge in origin determination among Customs officials and economic operators is critical to ensure compliant, inclusive and effective use of these agreements.
• Through the EU-WCO Rules of Origin Africa Programme, the WCO establishes pools of national experts capable of autonomously training their peers, as well as all stakeholders involved in the management and application of preferential rules of origin.

Customs officers from Nigeria, Comoros, Morocco, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde and Sao Tome & Principe participated in Training of Trainers (ToT) workshops in April and June 2026 and are now ready to train their peers and economic operators in origin determination.

These activities were organized within the framework of the EU-WCO Rules of Origin Africa Programme which, since 2022, has been working with African Customs administrations to equip Customs officials and relevant stakeholders with the knowledge and skills required to efficiently implement rules of origin provisions set in preferential trade agreements. By building a pool of national experts in participating administrations, the programme aims to build autonomous training capacities in these administrations and ensure its activities have a sustainable impact.

The last step of a comprehensive training cycle implemented in 21 African countries so far

The ToT workshops were the last step of a training cycle which covered a wide range of areas such as communication and presentation skills, facilitation techniques, curriculum planning and development, and teamworking. Participants were taken through rigorous, hands-on learning activities that included numerous opportunities for application of origin concepts. These included individual assignments, group exercises, case studies, peer-to-peer learning, knowledge-check quizzes and individualized trainer-to-learner feedback.

Each Customs administration advised on the type of participants to be selected for the training cycle. In Nigeria, the ToT workshop brought together members of the Nigeria AfCFTA Coordination Office and its stakeholders, namely, representatives of the Ministries of Finance and Trade, of the Chambers of Commerce, of the Manufacturers' Association of Nigeria, and of individual businesses.

Together with the representatives of the Customs Administrations of Comoros, Morocco and The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde and Sao Tome & Principe, they joined the 14 Customs administrations^[1], four professionals' associations^[2] and several economic operators who have already benefited from the training programme.

A four-stage learning model

Aligned with the WCO's capacity-building paradigm, the EU-WCO Rules of Origin Africa Programme develops each training cycle based on the specific needs and regulatory environment of the participants, adopting a comprehensive approach where the latter are taken through four stages of learning, advancing from basic to intermediate level, then on to advanced level, and finally to the ToT level.

At the basic level, participants gain understanding of free trade agreements, international instruments on preferential rules of origin, preferential origin requirements and preferential origin determination. This foundational knowledge is further strengthened at the intermediate level through learner-centred training techniques. At the advanced level of training, participants delve much deeper to acquire competencies that enable them to provide guidance on origin matters and make correct decisions in the event of requests on advance rulings and origin verification. Participants benefit from experiential learning by accompanying inspectors during visits to factories and border posts. Lastly, at the ToT level, participants learn how to utilize international instruments and tools to effectively plan, design, deliver and evaluate an RoO training programme.

The RoO training cycle utilizes a blended learning approach which not only makes it possible to optimize resource in terms of time and cost, but also to provide flexibility to participants, while offering them the possibility to reflect on what they have learned, deepen their understanding of technical issues, interact with their peers or seek clarification. The basic-level training utilizes synchronous, self-paced learning through the WCO CLiKC! learning platform for Customs officers or the WCO Academy for the private sector. At subsequent levels, asynchronous learning interventions are utilized, including live online training sessions, real-time discussions and in-person training sessions.

New trainers will contribute to building a trade environment characterized by predictability and transparency

Whilst the achievement of a ToT workshop usually marks the end of the training cycle, it is also the beginning of a new phase for Customs administrations, which can start planning and delivering their own training, as well as offer coaching and mentorship to their staff. Moreover, accredited trainers may be required to support the WCO in delivering national and regional workshops. Officers from Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Zambia and Zimbabwe have already participated in WCO activities and reported that this has enabled them to continue to grow in their expertise.

The trainers will provide continued support for the implementation and application of rules of origin in their respective countries and regions, contributing to building a trade environment characterized by predictability and transparency. For Customs and other government agencies, this means enhanced capacities to ensure compliance while facilitating legitimate trade flows. For the private sector, and especially small and medium-sized enterprises, this means enhanced capacities to submit accurate declarations, and the effective use of preferential trade agreements.

^[1] Customs Administrations of Angola, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Tunisia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

^[2] The Customs Brokers Association of Ghana, the East African Business Council, the Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa Business Council, the Southern African Development Community Business Council, and members of the West African Economic Monetary Union and the Arab Maghreb Union private sectors.