Women entrepreneurs across Africa have received a major boost as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in collaboration with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat and Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, convened the HerAfCFTA Regional Conference in Abuja to strengthen women’s participation in cross-border trade.
The conference focused on equipping women-owned businesses with the knowledge, skills, financing opportunities and policy support needed to overcome barriers to regional trade under the AfCFTA framework.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, said the initiative would deepen women’s participation in intra-African trade, expand exports of goods and services, and promote inclusive economic growth across the continent.
She commended the UNDP and other development partners for organising the conference, describing it as a strategic platform to unlock the economic potential of African women.
According to the minister, empowering more women to engage in cross-border trade will help reduce poverty, create jobs and contribute to greater peace and stability across Africa.
In her keynote address, the UN Assistant Secretary-General and Regional Director for Africa at the UNDP, Ahunna Eziakonwa, urged African governments to move beyond commitments and accelerate the implementation of the AfCFTA.
“We do not have time for the slow lane,” she said. “Every day we delay is a day of lost opportunities, lost trade, lost jobs and lost potential for millions of Africans.”
Eziakonwa described the AfCFTA as a strategic necessity for Africa’s economic independence rather than merely a trade agreement.
She stressed that implementation must be accelerated through the removal of regulatory barriers, simplification of cross-border trade procedures, expansion of digital payment systems, investment in logistics infrastructure and improved access to finance for women entrepreneurs.
According to her, women-owned businesses remain central to Africa’s economic transformation because they reinvest between 80 and 90 per cent of their earnings into their families and communities, creating long-term social and economic benefits.
She also called on policymakers to simplify customs procedures, harmonise tariff regulations across borders and create an enabling environment that allows women-led enterprises to compete effectively within the continental market.
“If women cannot fully participate in the AfCFTA market, then Africa is building a market that serves only half of its population,” she said.
Eziakonwa urged governments to back their commitments with concrete, measurable and adequately funded actions that would make trading easier for women across Africa.
Also speaking, the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, Wamkele Mene, said the continental trade agreement is changing the narrative about African women by positioning them as key drivers of economic integration and sustainable development.
“For far too long, African women have been viewed through the prism of vulnerability, while their contributions have been undervalued. That narrative is changing,” he said.
Mene noted that the African Union’s adoption of the Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade provides a legally binding framework for member states to eliminate barriers facing women entrepreneurs and expand their participation in sectors such as manufacturing, technology, mining, construction, commerce and logistics.
He said women entrepreneurs require affordable financing, market intelligence, export readiness training, legal support, digital connectivity, reliable infrastructure and stronger business networks to scale their enterprises and maximise the opportunities presented by the AfCFTA.
“The success of the AfCFTA depends on whether it delivers benefits to all economic actors. We cannot afford to leave more than half of Africa’s population behind,” Mene said.
He called on African governments and stakeholders to fully implement the Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade to ensure women and young entrepreneurs become major beneficiaries of continental economic integration.
The HerAfCFTA Regional Conference brought together policymakers, business leaders, development partners and women entrepreneurs from across Africa to identify practical solutions for increasing women’s participation in regional and international trade while advancing the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement.
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