WTO Chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to Launch WEIDE Grant in Abuja

• Women Exporter in Digital Economy (WEIDE) grant will be unveiled on Thursday in Abuja by WTO Director-General Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
• The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) will deliver the programme in Nigeria
• NEPC is one of just four Business Support Organisations worldwide — and the sole representative from Africa — selected for phase one

The Women Exporter in Digital Economy (WEIDE) grant will be launched formally on Thursday in Abuja by the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

Nigeria has been selected as a pilot beneficiary of the WEIDE Fund, designed to empower women-owned enterprises to participate in international digital trade. The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) is one of just four Business Support Organisations globally — and the only one from the African continent — chosen to roll out the pilot phase of the initiative. Ngozi announced the initiative for the first time in February 2024.

Emphasizing NEPC's role in empowering women in exports, Executive Director Nonye Ayeni revealed that the Council has already trained over 100 women-owned firms to raise the volume and value of spice and herb exports through aggregation centers. Such centers, she further stated, improve supply chain efficiency and act as hubs linking producers to local and international markets.

Nonye continued to point out that the initiative is in line with President Bola Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda, the thrust of which is the mainstreaming of youth and women into the export value chain. She further stated that NEPC had convened a recent forum that sought to empower women-owned enterprises to take advantage of the opportunities of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).