The Female Parliamentarians’ Association of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOFEPA) has urged women across the region to explore regional and global markets by acquiring the necessary skills and leveraging technology.

The call was made, on Friday, at an executive masterclass titled, ‘Advancing Women’s Participation in Global Trade for Political Readiness and Export Opportunities in ECOWAS Region’, which brought together women parliamentarians, entrepreneurs, exporters and other stakeholders to examine ways of increasing women’s participation in trade and strengthening their readiness for leadership and decision-making.

Delivering the welcome address on behalf of the ECOFEPA President, the First Vice-President, Zainab Gimba, said women must move beyond being participants in economic activities to becoming major drivers of trade, investment and innovation.

She said the focus should shift from conversations about empowering women to creating the knowledge, networks and opportunities required to enable them compete successfully in local, regional and international markets.

Gimba said women entrepreneurs continued to face barriers, including limited access to finance, market information, technology and business networks, as well as inadequate representation in decision-making.

She said the challenges were particularly significant for women seeking to transform small-scale businesses into formal, competitive and export-oriented enterprises.

She linked economic success with political participation, saying successful businesses could give women greater confidence, networks and leadership experience.

She urged governments, financial institutions, development partners and businesses to provide accessible financing, better trade infrastructure, reliable market information, mentorship and stronger networks for women entrepreneurs.

Gimba also urged women to acquire practical knowledge of standards, certification, packaging, branding, logistics, digital commerce, customs procedures and the requirements of international buyers, while calling on female parliamentarians to provide practical support for women entrepreneurs.

Representing Ghana’s Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, the ministry’s Legal Adviser, Ms Nnali Bennis-Wallace, said women were already making significant contributions to the economic development of the region as farmers, processors, manufacturers, traders, service providers, exporters and entrepreneurs.

Bennis-Wallace, however, said many women-owned businesses remained concentrated in the informal economy due to challenges accessing finance, technology, market information, business networks and larger markets.

She called for women to be deliberately positioned as producers, exporters, investors, innovators and decision-makers rather than primarily as beneficiaries of economic programmes.

She said regional and continental trade frameworks could provide opportunities for women entrepreneurs to expand their businesses and participate more actively in intra-African and global trade, adding that initiatives such as the masterclass could provide the practical knowledge and tools needed to move beyond local markets.

The Ghanaian government, she said, recognised women’s economic empowerment as an important component of national development, citing the National Gender Policy 2025-2034 as a framework for advancing gender-responsive development, women’s economic empowerment and participation in decision-making.

Bennis-Wallace called for stronger collaboration among government institutions, trade and economic bodies, parliaments, financial institutions, development partners, civil society organisations, private-sector actors and women’s business associations.

She also stressed the importance of reliable data in understanding women’s participation in trade and designing policies that address the barriers they face, proposing stronger support for women-owned businesses to become export-ready, alongside expanded access to finance, technology, market information and digital platforms and the development of stronger and more sustainable markets.