FG pushes women entrepreneurs to drive $1 trillion economy

The federal government has reaffirmed its commitment to empowering women entrepreneurs as key drivers of Nigeria’s industrial growth and continental trade.

According to a statement on Friday by Augustina Obilor-Duru,director press at the ministry of trade and investment, senior officials, policymakers, and private sector leaders gathered in Abuja for a high-level colloquium focused on boosting opportunities for women-led businesses under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The event focused on strategies to improve access to finance, broaden market opportunities, and position Nigerian women-led businesses to compete effectively across Africa’s integrated market.

Delivering the keynote address, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, described the AfCFTA as a transformative economic opportunity linking over 1.3 billion people in a market valued at more than $3 trillion. She emphasised that targeted support for women entrepreneurs is key to leveraging the trade framework for industrial expansion, job creation, and export growth.

“This conversation is fundamentally about capital and opportunity,” Dr. Oduwole said. “When women-led enterprises have access to finance, markets and institutional support, they become powerful engines of industrial growth, job creation and trade expansion.”

Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owan Enoh, noted that while AfCFTA offers Africa the world’s largest free trade area by participating countries, the real gains will depend on building competitive industries and supporting enterprises—especially women-led businesses—capable of producing and exporting at scale.

Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, stressed the importance of gender-responsive trade policies, simplified business registration, and inclusive trade procedures to enable women entrepreneurs to formalise and scale their businesses. She also announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministries of Women Affairs and Industry, Trade and Investment to expand access to finance for export-ready women-owned businesses and strengthen their continental trade participation.

The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, lauded the initiative, highlighting the critical role of women in innovation, entrepreneurship, and intra-African trade.