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Women and trade

Leaders underscore momentum in empowering women traders at MC14 high-level event

At a high-level event on women and trade held on 25 March in advance of the WTO's 14th Ministerial Conference, trade officials marked the progress made in enhancing women entrepreneurs' access to international markets. We are no longer just talking; we are delivering, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said at the event in Yaound?, Cameroon. The programme featured the work of the Women Exporters in the Digital Economy (WEIDE) Fund, the WTO informal working groups on trade and gender and on small enterprises, and the International Trade Centre's SheTrades Initiative.

Leaders underscore momentum in empowering women traders at MC14 high-level event

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• Women and trade
• Informal Working Group on Trade and Gender
• 14th WTO Ministerial Conference

- Ministerial conferences

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"Two years ago, in Abu Dhabi, we stood together to launch the WEIDE Fund. At that moment, we spoke not only about the challenges women face in trade, but about the opportunities ahead - particularly in digital trade," DG Okonjo-Iweala said, noting that women-led businesses face a US$ 300-billion credit gap.

"Today, almost 300 women entrepreneurs are benefiting from the WEIDE Fund and being provided with targeted technical assistance and grants. Indeed, the first grant disbursement of US$ 1.7 million is going out this month," she said. "The focus is shifting from why women in trade matter to how we deliver results - through partnerships, investment, and action."

Launched in 2024 by the WTO Secretariat and the International Trade Centre (ITC), the WEIDE Fund addresses persistent barriers faced by women entrepreneurs in accessing finance, digital tools and global trade opportunities. The WEIDE Fund is supported by the United Arab Emirates, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022T Legacy Fund and the Kingdom of Bahrain.?

The WEIDE Fund is releasing the first round of grant disbursements to women-led enterprises in the Dominican Republic, Mongolia and Nigeria. In April, the Fund will launch its programme in Amman, Jordan, and technical training and disbursements will begin there as well. These grants form part of a wider first-phase package valued at US$ 3.76 million. More information on the WEIDE Fund is available here.?

Informal working groups on trade and gender and on MSMEs

Members of the WTO Informal Working Group (IWG) on Trade and Gender, alongside the Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSME) Informal Working Group, unveiled a series of new initiatives aimed at strengthening the global trading system through women's economic empowerment.?

Members launched the IWG on Trade and Gender " Achievements Tracking Compendium," a comprehensive resource documenting the group's work since its establishment in 2020. Featuring 187 entries, it reflects all policy measures and support instruments contributed by WTO members and external stakeholders. These cover 17 core themes, such as women entrepreneurs, gender-disaggregated data, free trade agreements, COVID-19 mitigation responses, and Aid for Trade.?

Designed as a capacity building tool, a knowledge resource, a trade policy making instrument and an archival resource, the Compendium will be updated annually to reflect ongoing progress.?

Ambassadors also introduced a new joint project in collaboration with the MSME Group: a forthcoming compendium on "Empowering Women to Trade through Digitalisation: Policy Insights," with the goal of launching it by the end of 2026.?

The initiative will map trade-related policies and programmes supporting women, particularly women entrepreneurs, in areas such as e-commerce and digital trade. The project will combine existing data with new inputs gathered through surveys distributed to WTO members of both groups and external stakeholders. Officials emphasized that this new resource will complement existing compendiums, creating a toolkit to support gender-responsive trade policymaking.?

"This is exactly the kind of practical work we need more of," DG Okonjo-Iweala said. "Let us continue to work together - not just to include women in trade but to reshape trade so it works for women."?

Moreover, the co-chairs of the IWG on Trade and Gender, Ambassador James Baxter of Australia, Ambassador Clara Delgado of Cabo Verde and Ambassador Patricia Benedetti of El Salvador, launched a co-chairs statement on "Strengthening the Global Trading System through Women's Economic Empowerment".?

The statement underscores the IWG co-chairs' continued commitment to promoting gender-responsive trade policies, sharing best practices, and tracking the impact of the IWG's work. Building on momentum from previous ministerial conferences, the statement reaffirms the group's long-term objectives and outlines its future direction, including closer collaboration with WTO bodies and the continued development of practical tools to support gender-responsive trade policy making.?

The MSME Group also highlighted its own progress, noting steady membership growth and ongoing work in areas such as trade business support organizations, trade digitalization, good regulatory practices, and supporting the formalization of the informal economy. The MSME Group coordinator, Ambassador Matthew Wilson of Barbados, presented a joint report on authorized economic operator programmes, which aim at facilitating customs clearance through preferential measures, in collaboration with the World Customs Organization. He also highlighted recent work by the MSME Group on hearing directly from small businesses to identify and address trade barriers.?

Looking ahead, both groups expressed confidence in deepening cooperation and exploring emerging issues, such as artificial intelligence in trade and intellectual property rights. The launch of these initiatives and the ongoing progress in the work of both groups mark a significant engagement in advancing inclusive trade and ensuring that women and small businesses can fully participate in the global economy.?

Officials concluded by calling for continued collaboration, knowledge-sharing and sustained momentum to build a more inclusive and equitable trading system worldwide.?

SheTrades ?

For ITC, the event marked an important milestone for its flagship women and trade programme, the ITC SheTrades Initiative, which is celebrating ten years of advancing women's economic empowerment through trade.?

Since 2015, the initiative has supported more than 100,000 women across 94 countries, built a global network of 22 SheTrades Hubs, including a new hub launched in Zimbabwe last week, and advanced inclusive trade policy work in more than 65 countries through the UK-funded SheTrades Outlook policy tool. The next decade of SheTrades will focus on positioning women to lead in the digital and green transitions, South-South trade and economic transformation.?

ITC Executive Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton said: "When we launched SheTrades 10 years ago, our ambition was clear: to ensure women entrepreneurs everywhere have the tools, networks and opportunities to compete in global markets. A decade on, we see that vision taking root, with more women driving exports, embracing digital trade and leading in green innovation. As we enter the next decade, we will continue to champion women in trade. To all the women, keep going, we're with you."

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