Hails FG on reforms, unveils $5,000 grants for women entrepreneurs
Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, yesterday, met with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, commending his administration’s reforms for restoring stability to Nigeria’s economy.
Okonjo-Iweala, who described the meeting as “very good,” said the President was “gracious” to receive her shortly after she joined the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, to launch a Women Exporters Fund earlier in the day.
She said: “The Fund, jointly managed by the WTO and the International Trade Centre (ITC) in Geneva, is aimed at helping Nigerian women entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, create jobs, and boost household incomes in the digital economy.
“Nigeria competed and emerged as one of only four countries globally selected for this new programme. Out of 67,000 Nigerian women who applied, 146 were chosen as beneficiaries.
“Sixteen of the winners, under the “Booster Track,” already run businesses that will be scaled up with 18 months of technical and business support from the WTO, ITC, the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, and the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC). Another 100 will each receive $5,000 in direct funding along with a year of business development support, while the remainder will access tailored assistance to strengthen their enterprises.”
“This is just the beginning,” Okonjo-Iweala added, stressing the programme’s potential to expand Nigeria’s economic base and empower women. In his remark, Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, reiterated his commitment to supporting the initiative, noting that women entrepreneurs bring a unique ability to connect products to real-life problems.
Also, President of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Dr Dele Oye, praised the programme for positioning Nigeria in the digital trade ecosystem and supporting the country’s ambition to build a $1 trillion economy.
On the economy, the WTO chief lauded Tinubu’s administration for achieving stability, a necessary foundation for growth.
“You cannot really improve an economy unless it’s stable. The President and his team have worked hard to stabilise the economy. The reforms have been in the right direction. The next step is growth, alongside building social safety nets so those feeling the pinch of reforms can get support.”
She added that growth, job creation, and income expansion must go hand-in-hand with measures to cushion the impact of ongoing reforms on vulnerable Nigerians.
