The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has launched a $50 million global fund aimed at empowering women entrepreneurs in digital trade. She, however, warned that global commerce is currently facing “extremely challenging times” due to rising unilateralism and protectionism.
The initiative, called the Women Exporters in the Digital Economy (WEIDE) Fund, is a joint project between the WTO and the International Trade Centre (ITC). It is designed to equip women-owned businesses in developing countries with the skills, resources, and networks needed to compete in global value chains.
Speaking on Thursday in Abuja, Okonjo-Iweala expressed concern about Nigeria’s low internet penetration rate, noting that only 45% of Nigerians are connected to the internet, compared to the global average of 67%. She stressed that without reliable electricity and affordable internet, the country risks missing opportunities in the fast-growing digital trade market.
“No nation can truly digitise without a steady supply of electricity and reliable, affordable internet,” she said. “More than half of Nigerians remain disconnected, and this gap must be closed if we are to seize the opportunities of digital trade.”
Okonjo-Iweala described the WEIDE Fund as “more than a programme,” calling it a movement to help women entrepreneurs not just survive, but thrive in the global market.
Currently, global trade is valued at $30.4 trillion, with digital trade as the fastest-growing segment. However, Africa’s share remains under 1%. She noted that digitally delivered services—such as IT, consulting, and education—have grown from $1 trillion in 2005 to $4.25 trillion today.
2025 WEIDE Fund
This year, the WEIDE Fund is being launched in four countries—Jordan, Mongolia, the Dominican Republic, and Nigeria—selected through a highly competitive process involving over 600 business support organisations. Nigeria’s application, led by the Nigerian Export Promotion Council under Mrs. Nonye Ayeni, stood out for its strength and clarity.
Out of 67,000 Nigerian women entrepreneurs who applied, the quality of applications was so high that the initial target of 100 beneficiaries was increased to 146 awardees:
- 16 entrepreneurs in the Booster Track will each receive up to $30,000 and 18 months of technical assistance.
- 130 entrepreneurs in the Discovery Track will each receive up to $5,000 and 12 months of business support.
The beneficiaries operate across sectors such as agriculture, IT, fashion, hospitality, beauty, and manufacturing.
While commending Nigeria’s $2 billion fibre optic project to connect rural and secondary cities, the WTO chief reiterated that digital trade requires stable electricity to thrive.
She also lamented that women remain underrepresented in Nigeria’s booming ICT sector, which grew from less than 4% of GDP in 2001 to 18% in 2022. Only 30% of Nigerian tech firms are owned by women, and the country ranks 128th out of 148 in the Global Gender Gap Report.
Call to Action
Okonjo-Iweala urged policymakers to treat women’s empowerment as “smart economics” rather than charity and warned against imposing customs duties on cross-border digital trade, which could harm small exporters.“If countries start taxing digital trade, micro and small businesses—especially those run by women—will lose one of their best pathways into global markets,” she said.
Addressing the awardees, she added:“You earned this through hard work and vision. Use this moment to dream bigger, scale higher, and go further. When I return in two years, I want to see how many more people you have hired, how many new markets you have reached, and how many women you have inspired.”
She concluded:“When women succeed, communities succeed, economies succeed. This is not just a moral case—it is an economic case. Let’s make it happen.”
