Global Trade: West African Women Urged To Exploit Technology For Regional Development

West African businesswomen and entrepreneurs have been advised to leverage technology and skills to grow their businesses and access regional and global markets.

The Female Parliamentarians’ Association of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOFEPA) gave this admonition during an Executive Masterclass titled “Advancing Women’s Participation in Global Trade for Political Readiness and Export Opportunities in ECOWAS Region” in Accra, Ghana.

ECOFEPA President, Shantal Fanny, in her statement, advised women to move beyond participating in economic activities to becoming major drivers of trade, investment and innovation.

Represented by the First Vice-President, Zainab Gimba, Fanny said that while women’s empowerment has helped women, they must cultivate the knowledge, networks, and opportunities needed to compete successfully in local, regional, and international markets.

She lamented that women entrepreneurs have consistently faced barriers such as limited access to finance, market information, technology and business networks, as well as inadequate representation in decision-making.

According to her, these challenges are significant for women seeking to transform small-scale businesses into formal, competitive and export-oriented enterprises, even as she linked economic success with political participation, adding that successful businesses could provide women with greater confidence, networks and leadership experience.

“We need women who are not only prepared to enter the marketplace but also prepared to sit at the tables where decisions about trade, investment, finance, industry and regional integration are made,” she said.

Ghana’s Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr. Agnes Lartey, in her remarks, asserted that West African women have made significant contributions to the region’s economic development in their capacities as farmers, processors, manufacturers, traders, service providers, exporters and entrepreneurs

Represented by the Ministry’s Legal Adviser, Ms Nnali Bennis-Wallace, the Minister, however, noted that many women-owned businesses remained in the informal economy due to limited access to finance, technology, market information, business networks, and larger markets.

Ms Bennis-Wallace tasked women with leveraging regional and continental trade frameworks to expand their businesses and participate more actively in intra-African and global trade, adding that the Ghanaian government recognised women’s economic empowerment as an important component of national development.

She cited the National Gender Policy 2025–2034 as a framework for promoting gender-responsive development, economic empowerment and women’s participation in decision-making.