Stakeholders have emphasised the need to strengthen women’s participation in industry, trade and investment as Nigeria positions itself to lead continental commerce under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
They made the call on Friday during a colloquium themed “Positioning Nigeria to Lead Intra-African Trade”, held at the National Assembly Library in Abuja, where policymakers, lawmakers, development partners and women entrepreneurs gathered to discuss strategies for expanding women-led enterprises across Africa’s emerging trade market.
Speaking at the event, the minister of industry, trade and investment, Jumoke Oduwole, said the AfCFTA presents a historic opportunity for economic integration across Africa, noting that the agreement has created a market of about 1.4 billion people with a combined GDP of roughly $3.4 trillion.
Oduwole stressed that Nigeria must position itself not merely as a consumer market but as a major production hub capable of manufacturing, processing and exporting goods at scale across the continent.
She noted that manufacturing currently contributes about 13 to 14 per cent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product, far below the 20 to 25 per cent recorded in many industrialised economies, adding that bridging this gap remains a key priority of the country’s industrial policy.
The minister observed that women dominate several sectors of Nigeria’s real economy, including retail trade, textiles, agribusiness processing and light manufacturing, but often face structural challenges such as limited access to capital, digital training and formal business governance systems.
Also speaking, the minister of women affairs and social development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, said women remain central to Nigeria’s economic growth, particularly in agriculture, where they account for about 70 per cent of the labour force.
She noted, however, that women own less than 14 per cent of agricultural land and have limited access to formal credit, stressing that empowering women entrepreneurs is essential to expanding Nigeria’s export capacity under the AfCFTA.
The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Esther Walson-Jack, reaffirmed the commitment of the Federal Civil Service to policies that promote inclusive economic growth and strengthen the enabling environment for businesses and investors.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Nura Abba Rimi, called for stronger collaboration among government, development finance institutions and the private sector to develop financing structures and policy frameworks that will enable women-led enterprises to scale and compete effectively across African markets.
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