ICT and trade competitiveness in West Africa: the mediating role of revealed comparative advantage in the non-alcoholic beverage sector

Nnanna P. Azu (), Aburime Ehimare () and Hassan P. Abdullahi ()
Additional contact information
Nnanna P. Azu: Air Force Institute of Technology
Aburime Ehimare: Baze University
Hassan P. Abdullahi: Air Force Institute of Technology

Future Business Journal, 2025, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Abstract This study examines the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) and revealed comparative advantage (RCA) on non-alcoholic trade in West Africa. The study considered data from 1995 to 2023 for 15 West African countries. It utilised the pooled mean group estimator, capturing ICT from three standpoints: internet penetration, mobile phone subscriptions and fixed telephone subscriptions. The findings indicate that internet penetration and mobile phone subscriptions lead to a significant rise in non-alcoholic beverage exports in West Africa, with increases of 27.3% and 37.3%, respectively, while fixed telephone subscriptions result in a 17.9% decrease in exports. Internet penetration increases non-alcoholic beverage imports by 27.6%. The interaction between ICT variables and RCA enhances export performance, with the strongest impact observed with internet penetration, yielding increases of up to 88.9% in exports when combined with RCA. The results suggest that enhancing internet and mobile connectivity can significantly boost non-alcoholic beverage exports in West Africa. Thus, it is advisable to prioritise ICT infrastructure development and support initiatives that leverage technology to improve competitiveness and trade efficiency in the sector.

Keywords: ICT; Internet; Mobile phone; Non-alcoholic beverage; Export; Import; West Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C13 F10 F14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1186/s43093-025-00535-5 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:futbus:v:11:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1186_s43093-025-00535-5

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://fbj.springeropen.com/

DOI: 10.1186/s43093-025-00535-5

Access Statistics for this article

Future Business Journal is currently edited by Soad Kamel Rizk and Hayam Wahba

More articles in Future Business Journal from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().