How NEPC SheTrades connects 200,000 women entrepreneurs to foreign markets

The Executive Director of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Mr Olusegun Awolowo has said SheTrades Initiative developed by the Council is Nigeria’s opportunity to accelerate her economic growth through the increased participation of Nigerian women in global trade. Mr Awolowo said such an opportunity was long overdue to unlock the potentials of the captive […]

The Executive Director of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Mr Olusegun Awolowo has said SheTrades Initiative developed by the Council is Nigeria’s opportunity to accelerate her economic growth through the increased participation of Nigerian women in global trade.

Mr Awolowo said such an opportunity was long overdue to unlock the potentials of the captive ability of Nigerian women who dominate the country’s non-oil export sectors.

SheTrades Initiative in launched in September, 2015 is a global call to action to connect one million women entrepreneurs to markets by 2020. Nigeria has a target of connecting at least 200,000 women to the international market. 

Addressing participants at Southeast Zonal Stakeholders’ forum on Women Entrepreneurs held in Enugu, Awolowo said, “We must join other countries by working together to boldly make women business enterprises a significant contributor to the country’s economy and revenue.”

The theme of the forum: “Promoting Trade for Women Entrepreneurs” focused on the implementation of SheTrades initiative in Nigeria as NEPC sought to mobilise partners around the world towards achieving the economic empowerment of women through trade which the International Trade Centre (ITC) is promoting.

He recalled that in July 2016, the ITC launched the Nigeria Chapter of the SheTrades Initiative at Abuja as part of the ambitious global agenda to take at least one million women from developing economy and economy in transition to the market by the year 2020.

Awolowo, who was represented by the Head, Women in Export Division of NEPC, Mrs Leticia Onu, however, appealed to women-owned businesses in the southeast zone to register quickly with SheTrades Initiative as it “will help them grow their businesses and also help them to connect their businesses to the international market.”

He said NEPC has so far created “Women in Export Desk” in Abuja and in all the Regional and Smart Offices where matters relating to gender activities in trade are being handled, appealing to the participants to make “maximum use of these outlets to improve on your export activities.”

Part of the activities for the initiative is the holding of stakeholders’ forum in some states with a steering committee inaugurated to drive it.

NEPC said the action has led to the formation of women clusters on some product sectors such as Hibiscus, Sesame seed, Cotton and Moringa. “This is aimed at enhancing the competitiveness and capacity of women in these sectors,” he noted.

Awolowo said: “Today, we are focusing on partnership for better integration of women into the economic fabric of Nigeria through connecting them to global trade. Women are the backbone of practically all economies, especially the informal economy.”

The regional coordinator of NEPC, Mrs Getrude Ukoanam decried the challenges facing women entrepreneurs such as limited access to land, finance and information which women continue to encounter, noting that such challenges hindered women’s business success in Nigeria as in other countries.

She stressed that putting economic resources in women’s hands was the best way to accelerate development and sustainably reduce poverty. “Promotion of women-owned businesses in Nigeria to increase women entrepreneurs is one of the ways through which the economic diversification agenda of the present government will receive a boost,” Mrs Ukoanam said.

She also noted that the forum was organized to build the capacity of women entrepreneurs on the implementation of SheTrades initiative and kick start the mapping exercise of 4,000 women-owned businesses in Nigeria aimed at achieving sustainable development.