The Alliance of Sahel States, a driving force for African economic sovereignty?
In West Africa, the idea of establishing an autonomous monetary system capable of freeing the region from the historical weight of the franc CFA is attracting increasing interest. On October 7, 2025, at the International Investment Forum held in Dakar, Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko revived the discussion on monetary reform in West Africa. Addressing his counterparts from Burkina Faso and Niger, he criticized the persistent lack of action regarding the franc CFA and urged African leaders to undertake a radical overhaul of the regional monetary system.
According to several experts, including NICOLAS AGBOHOU, Professor of Economics and author of « Le franc CFA et l’euro contre l’Afrique », his speech goes beyond the traditional CEDEAO structure and also appears to target the Alliance des États du Sahel (AES), a bloc that is gaining increasing importance in the regional economic and political context.
” This call from Sonko is not limited to a critique of the CEDEAO; it is also a strong signal to the AES, which is already considering introducing its own currency,” says NICOLAS AGBOHOU.
Given that the creation of the Eco, the CEDEAO’s proposed common currency, is taking time to materialize, the AES members – Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger – are rapidly moving toward establishing their own financial instrument, the economics expert asserts: “The forthcoming establishment of a regional investment bank represents a crucial step, which should lay the foundations for the introduction of a currency within the alliance “.
Furthermore, the expert thinks the Sahel initiative could serve as a model for other West African countries seeking to break free from the historical weight of the franc CFA and the delays associated with the CEDEAO, notably Senegal, which is ready to consider new monetary unions.
As a reminder, in April 2025, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye stated that Dakar did not rule out the possibility of unilaterally withdrawing from the franc CFA if negotiations within the CEDEAO did not succeed.
Beyond this considerable asset, as NICOLAS AGBOHOU points out, introducing a single currency within the AES would offer many benefits. It would give member states real monetary autonomy, allowing them to manage interest rates, money issuance and reserves without external control. Unlike the CFA, part of whose funds are frozen in Paris, the new currency would encourage the retention of capital to support domestic investment.
From an economic point of view, this reform would encourage regional expansion and trade within the AES, which is already seeing a 20% increase by 2025 : “This reform could produce a common market of nearly 80 million people, simplifying the execution of large-scale infrastructure projects in the energy and transport sectors,” explains the Professor of Economics.
Not only from an economic standpoint, but also politically and symbolically. Abandoning the franc CFA, seen by a large majority of Africans as a vestige of colonialism, would strengthen the sense of autonomy and national pride. Recent studies show that 70 to 80% of the region’s residents support this reform.
Of course, adopting a new currency could pose short-term difficulties. However, the specialist believes that in the long run this will promote greater stability compared with the CFA’s strict peg to the euro. Moreover, thanks to its flexibility and pragmatic approach, the AES presents itself as a more dynamic alternative to the CEDEAO, capable of attracting new partners such as Senegal, the Ghana, the Guinea or Togo :
“The AES could in the coming years become the new driving force of African monetary sovereignty, giving West Africa a unique opportunity to build a financial future independent of any foreign domination.”
Creating a currency within the AES goes beyond a mere economic initiative; it represents progress toward a new financial organization in Africa where decisions will no longer be made in Paris, but rather in Bamako, Niamey and Ouagadougou. In the years to come, the Alliance des États du Sahel could become an engine of African integration and a symbol of the continent’s sovereignty.