A new chapter in Africa’s trade landscape is set to begin as preparations advance for the launch of the Women Exporter in Digital Economy (WEIDE) grant in Abuja this Thursday. The initiative, to be unveiled by World Trade Organisation Director-General Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, is designed to help women-led businesses across the continent seize opportunities in global digital trade.
Nigeria has been chosen as the pilot country for the WEIDE Fund, making it the first testing ground for a programme expected to reach more African nations in the future. The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) is one of only four Business Support Organisations worldwide and the only one from Africa — selected to implement the grant’s first phase. The programme, first announced in February 2024, aims to remove barriers that limit women’s participation in digital exports.
NEPC Executive Director Nonye Ayeni said the Council has already been preparing the ground by training over 100 women-led businesses to expand spice and herb exports through aggregation centres that connect producers to local and global markets. She noted that the effort aligns with continental priorities such as the African Continental Free Trade Area, which seeks to boost intra-African trade and empower more women entrepreneurs.
The WEIDE initiative aims to strengthen women’s competitiveness in cross-border exports, improve access to trade intelligence, streamline supply chains, enhance data on women-led non-oil exports, and advocate for gender-responsive trade policies.
In anticipation of the launch, NEPC has been registering new exporters — 2,285 in the first half of the year, including 377 women and delivering nationwide capacity-building on export readiness, agricultural and manufacturing standards, packaging, and labelling. It has also supported 200 exporters in obtaining international certifications such as FDA and HACCP, and distributed more than 23,000 hybrid seedlings of cocoa, sesame, and oil palm to over 3,000 farmers to improve crop quality and export potential.
Trade analysts say the forthcoming launch could pave the way for more African women to tap into digital trade, with Nigeria’s experience serving as a blueprint for scaling the initiative across the continent.
