The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has launched the first phase of its Women Exporters in the Digital Economy (WEIDE) Fund in Nigeria, with a $50 million investment aimed at creating opportunities for women entrepreneurs in the digital space.
Under this initial phase, 16 Nigerian women entrepreneurs will each receive $30,000 and 18 months of technical support. An additional 130 beneficiaries will be awarded $5,000 each, alongside 12 months of dedicated business assistance.
According to Kwapchi Bata Hamman, Special Assistant to the President on Media and ICT, the WEIDE Fund is a joint initiative of the WTO and the International Trade Centre (ITC) designed to empower women-led micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The programme seeks to enhance access to finance, boost competitiveness, and connect women entrepreneurs to global markets.
Speaking at Thursday’s launch in Abuja, First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu, represented by Hajiya Nana Shettima, wife of the Vice President, described the initiative as “laudable,” noting its alignment with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
She said the fund addresses long-standing challenges, including “limited access to finance, networks, and digital infrastructure that have hindered women from reaching their full economic potential.” Senator Tinubu commended the WTO and ITC for “shaping this groundbreaking initiative to foster inclusive global trade and enable Nigerian women entrepreneurs to take their innovations beyond the nation’s borders.”
WTO Director-General Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala reaffirmed that the programme’s first phase would invest $50 million, with 146 women selected in total — 16 in the “booster track” category and 130 receiving targeted business support.
Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, hailed the project as a “global declaration that women are equal partners in the digital marketplace, not mere spectators,” while highlighting Nigeria’s role as a pilot country as proof of its potential in digital trade.
Similarly, Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, pledged to remove bureaucratic barriers in the export process for women entrepreneurs, promising to “fast-track export processes and open the gates for them to access global markets with their products.”
Other goodwill messages came from the Minister of Women Affairs, Iman Suleiman-Ibrahim, and the Minister of Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijjani.
The WEIDE Fund — supported by the FIFA World Cup 2022 Legacy Fund, the Government of Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates — was first unveiled in February 2024 in Abu Dhabi. Following a competitive selection process that drew 600 applications, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) was chosen as a partner for the fund’s first cycle.
