The Ministry of Commerce & Industry (MoCI) has formally taken part in the ongoing Executive Budget Hearings at the Ministry of Finance & Development Planning in Monrovia.
The Ministry’s Senior Management Team (SMT), under the stewardship of Acting Commerce & Industry Minister, Hon. Stephen M. Yekeson, Jr., toady led the team to the Finance Ministry to make the case for an institution that oversees trade and commerce in the country.
In his official opening statement, Acting Minister Yekeson provided an overview of the Ministry’s core value and statutory mandate- followed by the 2026 performance and proposed priorities for 2027.
Among the Ministry’s achievements for 2026 was the continued expansion and decentralization of the Liberian Business Registry (LBR) – reporting approximately 24,676 registered businesses, with business registration services now decentralized to seven counties.
According to Acting Minister Yekeson, the decentralization initiative is intended to make business registration more accessible to entrepreneurs outside Monrovia, while plans are underway to extend the service to additional counties. He also highlighted ongoing efforts to digitize the business registration process, saying the initiative will improve efficiency, transparency, data collection and access to services for businesses.
Making the case for the Ministry, Hon. Yekeson highlighted key reforms, support to businesses, trade promotion, consumer protection, and industrial development.
He told the gathering that the presentation was intended to demonstrate how resources allocated during the 2026 fiscal year were utilized, while outlining programs and projects requiring continued or additional funding in 2027.
He emphasized that Commerce, Trade and Industry remain central to Liberia’s economic growth, noting the Ministry’s responsibility to regulate trade and prices, protect consumers, facilitate private-sector development, collect and disseminate business data, and promote industrial development.
In support of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, the Ministry reported providing lines of credit to businesses and initiating the Youth Entrepreneurial Investment Bank (YEIB) with seed capital of approximately US$15 million. The Ministry also spoke about exploring opportunities to position the initiative as a development finance institution and leverage additional resources from international development finance institutions.
Progress in establishing business incubators designed to provide startups and small businesses with technical assistance in areas including accounting, bookkeeping, marketing and business management was also outlined in the Ministry’s presentation.
Relative to trade and business reforms, the Ministry highlighted the development of an online business registry, trade information portal, trade policy and industrial policy as key initiatives aimed at improving Liberia’s business and investment environment.
Acting Minister Yekeson also expressed the Ministry’s commitment to industrial growth, including efforts to maximize opportunities at the industrial park along the Buchanan Highway and attract light industries to Liberia.
The Commerce Ministry team also spoke about the importance of Liberia taking part and advantage of opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), ECOWAS, the World Trade Organization (WTO), and AGOA, stressing that adequate resources are needed to enable Liberian businesses compete in regional and international markets.
The ongoing exercise, also referred to as Ministerial Hearings, is presided over by Finance and Development Planning Minister, Augustine Ngafuan, and is meant to establish the framework for the approaching fiscal allocations.
Prior to the team’s presentation at the Finance Ministry on Thursday, October 8, 2026, there was a participatory in-house review of the financial instrument under the watch of the SMT.
