The West Africa Association of Customer Service Professionals (WAACSP) has announced the launch of a new professional certification in virtual assistance, marking a significant step in the organisation’s efforts to upskill professionals across the ECOWAS region.

The announcement, made in a press release dated April 2, 2025, revealed that the Virtual Assistant Fundamentals program has been fully upgraded to a standalone professional certification. Now titled the Professional Certification in Virtual Assistant, the course becomes the third professional certification offered by WAACSP, joining the Basic (2015) and Advanced (2021) certifications in customer service.

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According to WAACSP, the decision follows successful pilot sessions during the 2024 ECOWAS Customer Service Certification (2nd Diet), the January 2025 Off-Diet training, and two capacity-building workshops held during the 2024 Customer Service Week and 2025 Annual Refresher Course.

The new program consists of three core modules, focusing on practical training, tools and applications, and best practices in virtual assistance. Graduates will earn the title WAACSP-Certified Virtual Assistant Professional.

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Oroma Unufe, who leads the facilitation team, brings extensive experience and recently completed the WAACSP Trainers’ Training 2025 Cohort. “This upgrade is a response to the growing demand for remote work skills across Africa,” Unufe said. “Our goal is to prepare professionals not just for jobs, but for long-term, sustainable careers.”

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Christian Anozie, WAACSP head of administration, emphasised the program’s broader significance: “We’re not just certifying skills—we’re contributing to the region’s economic transformation through relevant, globally recognized training.”

Since 2016, WAACSP has certified over 5,000 professionals across its programs. The organisation says it remains committed to expanding educational opportunities that create both social and economic impact across West Africa.

The new certification will debut with the 1st Diet of the 2025 ECOWAS Professional Certification in Customer Service.

Wasiu Alli is a business, economics cum data journalist with strong expertise covering macro trends, capital markets, government policies, corporate earnings and comparative economics analysis. Alli turns raw data into trends that not only tells compelling stories but nudges investors to make valued and informed decisions. He’s an alumnus of Lagos State University and trained at Lagos Business School. He formerly heads the Companies and Markets desk at BusinessDay where he writes and supervises the production of well researched articles on earnings updates, corporate sectoral comparisons, market intelligence as well as interviews with C-suite executives.

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