Nigerian Women Urged to Engage in Global Market

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

Nigerian women have been urged to engage competitively in the intra-African trade and in the global market place.

Delivering a speech at the International Trade Centre (ITC) hosted training workshop on ‘Trade Competitiveness, Export Readiness and Visibility: Diagnosing and Supporting Women Businesses to Maximise the Opportunities in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA)’, in Abuja, the National Coordinator, Nigerian Network of Women Exporters of Services (NNWES), Nkiru Okpala-Perkins said the programme was designed to aid women to identify their business strengths and weakness; and pick up power-tools that would support their economic growth, guide them in engaging competitively in the intra-African trade and indeed, the globe market place.

She said the programme is coming at a time when it is imperative that women must be at the frontline of trade.

Okpala-Perkins noted that the International Trade Centre (ITC) in Geneva, a joint agency of the United Nations, and the World Trade Organisation (WTO), has developed the ‘SheTrades’ African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Project for African Women in Business, with Nigeria being a beneficiary of it, and “we are here to ensure its smooth implementation.”

Okpala-Perkins explained that the major objectives of the SheTrades AfCFTA project are to help women have increased understanding of the AfCFTA, and the opportunities related to their countries and sectors; create awareness and better understanding of export requirements, procedures, and solutions; have proper assessment of their company’s readiness to enter regional markets, become aware of the potential export strategies and gain insight into their business weaknesses and strengths.

She revealed that ITC has redesigned the former SheTrades platform with a new one launched on March 8, 2022, on the International Women’s Day.

Okpala-Perkins said: “That was a huge and pleasant gift from ITC Geneva to women across the globe. This one of its kind project is supported by the ITC Trade Impact for Good, the Federation of Women in Business (COMFWB), and the SheTrades AfCFTA, and housed by the Women and Trade Unit of the International Trade Centre, Palais Des Nation, Geneva in Switzerland.”

She stated that NNWES is here to ensure that women in business across Nigeria benefit maximally from the project, adding that: “We shall firstly be deep-diving with 40 export ready/export willing women.”

She said: “Our hash tag for this year’s International Women’s Day is: #BreakTheBias. This calls on the people to work towards a world that is equitable, inclusive, and free from bias or discrimination, and ensure a level-playing ground for all. So, without bias ITC is poised at speeding up the integration of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) into Regional and Global Value Chains. Women abound in the SME world. With the support of ITC and our wonderful MDAs in Nigeria, including our efforts as focused and proactive women, we shall make trade work for growth, jobs creation, national development and ultimately poverty reduction and possibly eradication in Nigeria.”

federal government planned to build six modular refineries in the Niger Delta region, but the government cannot do this thing by themselves alone.

“What the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has done in the state is the best, and other governors in the Niger Delta should emulate him in tackling the menace of soot, and we have seen how they can create investment programme to eradicate illegal modular refinery.