Some 146 Nigerian women are set to benefit from the first phase of the World Trade Organization’s $50 million Women Exporters in Digital Economy (WEIDE) investment fund.
Among other things, the fund is aimed at creating opportunities for women entrepreneurs in the digital economy.
The scheme, jointly implemented with the International Trade Centre (ITC), will provide financial support and technical assistance to women-led micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to boost competitiveness, enhance access to finance, and connect to global markets.
Under the programme’s first phase, 146 Nigerian women entrepreneurs were selected.
According to local media reports, 16 “booster track” participants will each receive $30,000 and 18 months of technical support, while 130 beneficiaries will receive $5,000 and 12 months of dedicated business support.
Speaking during the launch in Abuja, Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, represented by the wife of the Vice President, Hajiya Shettima, commended the WTO and ITC for the initiative.
She said that the programme aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to diversify the economy and empower women-led enterprises, while addressing barriers such as limited access to finance, networks, and digital infrastructure.
In her speech at the event, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), praised Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to stabilise Nigeria’s economy.
“We think that the President and his team-and we just exchanged with him- have worked hard to stabilise the economy, and you cannot improve an economy unless it’s stable, so he has to be given the credit for the stability of the economy.
“The reforms have been in the right direction. What is needed next is growth. We now need to grow the economy, and we need to put in a social safety net, so that people who are feeling the pinch of the reforms can also have some support to be able to weather the hardship.
“So that’s the next step. How do we build a social safety net to help Nigerians cushion the hardship they are feeling, and then how do we grow the economy so we can create more jobs and put more money in people’s pockets, these are issues that we discussed with Mr. President,” she said.
Source:Africa Publicity