African leaders yesterday made a compelling case for placing women at the heart of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), warning that the continent’s ambition to create the world’s largest single market would remain unrealised unless governments urgently remove structural barriers limiting female entrepreneurs and traders
Speaking at the 2026 HerAfCFTA Regional Conference in Abuja, the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, Wamkele Mene; Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, and the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the Regional Bureau for Africa, Ahunna Eziakonwa, said women already constitute the backbone of Africa’s informal and small business economy but remain excluded from the policies, financing and infrastructure required to scale their enterprises across the continent.
The conference, themed “Women Advancing Africa’s Economic Transformation through Intra-African Trade: Scaling Impact,” drew ministers, trade commissioners, development partners, business leaders and women entrepreneurs from across Africa
Collectively, the speakers argued that Africa’s future economic prosperity, industrialisation and strategic autonomy would depend on how quickly governments transform the AfCFTA from a legal framework into a practical platform that enables women-owned businesses to trade seamlessly across borders
Eziakonwa described the current global environment as one characterised by fractured supply chains, rising protectionism and weakening multilateral cooperation, insisting that Africa could no longer depend on external markets to drive its development
“We do not have time for a slow lane,” she declared
“Every day we delay is a day of lost opportunity, lost trade, lost jobs and lost potential.”
She described the AfCFTA as a strategic necessity capable of helping Africa retain value, build resilient supply chains and reduce dependence on exports of raw materials
According to her, although 49 African countries have ratified the agreement, implementation remains slow, stressing that treaties alone would not create jobs or improve livelihoods
The UNDP regional chief urged African governments to harmonise regulations, simplify customs procedures, modernise logistics infrastructure, establish interoperable digital payment systems and eliminate barriers slowing the movement of goods and services across the continent
She argued that Africa had a unique opportunity to demonstrate that economic integration could succeed even as much of the world moved towards protectionism
“In a world that is disintegrating, Africa chooses integration. In a world that is building walls, Africa chooses bridges,” she said
Eziakonwa maintained that women must be central to that vision, noting that they dominate informal cross-border trade despite operating under difficult conditions
Drawing from African history, she cited the Aba Women’s Revolt of 1929, Queen Nzinga of Angola and generations of market women across West Africa as examples of women’s longstanding role in shaping African commerce
“If women cannot navigate the AfCFTA market, then Africa has built a market for only half of its people,” she warned
She called for immediate reforms, including simplified regulations for women traders, increased investment in trade infrastructure and digital systems, and greater representation of women in trade negotiations and policy formulation
Earlier, Mene said African women were already demonstrating extraordinary entrepreneurial capacity despite significant structural constraints
He disclosed that 83 per cent of Nigerian women identify as entrepreneurs, significantly higher than the continental average of 51 per cent, while women account for over 40 per cent of employment in micro, small and medium-sized enterprises
He further revealed that women constitute approximately 74 per cent of informal cross-border traders within West Africa and facilitate between $2.5 billion and $6.5 billion in annual ECOWAS trade
Despite their enormous contribution, he said African women traders continue to face harassment, extortion and an estimated $49 billion financing gap
Speaking as host, Oduwole reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to ensuring that women become central beneficiaries of the AfCFTA
She welcomed trade ministers, commissioners and entrepreneurs from across Africa, describing the conference as evidence of growing continental collaboration around inclusive trade
The minister said the case for placing women at the centre of the AfCFTA was “an existential one,” arguing that the agreement could only succeed if it reflected the realities of the entrepreneurs who already dominate much of Africa’s private sector
According to her, women own more than half of Africa’s micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, making them indispensable to the continent’s industrial and commercial future
She, however, cautioned against treating women as a single homogeneous group, noting that female entrepreneurs operate across agriculture, manufacturing, services, technology and creative industries, each facing unique challenges requiring targeted policy responses
“Our task is to ensure that women are not confined to the lower rungs of the AfCFTA market,” she said
Oduwole pledged Nigeria’s commitment to implementing policies that would enable women-owned businesses to expand beyond domestic markets and fully benefit from the continental free trade agreement
She also praised women entrepreneurs exhibiting products from several African countries at the conference, saying their presence demonstrated that the AfCFTA was already delivering tangible results beyond policy documents
