By Joan Nwagwu

The First Lady, Sen Oluremi Tinubu, has commended the Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala led World Trade Organisation (WTO) over the 50 million dollars fund for women empowerment in the country.

Mrs Tinubu gave the commendation on Thursday in Abuja, while inaugurating the Women Exporters in the Digital Economy (WEIDE) Fund.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the initiative is a joint effort of the WTO and the International Trade Centre to equip women-owned businesses in developing countries with skills, resources and networks to participate competitively in global value chains.

“It gives me great delight and honour to officially launch the Women Exporters in the Digital Economy Fund to support and set up the businesses of Nigerian women entrepreneurs.

“The inauguration is an important step towards expanding the participation of Nigerian women in global trade through digital tools.

‘This initiative aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of this administration of President Bola Tinubu and his effort to diversify the economy and empower women-led enterprises,” she said.

The First Lady, represented by the Wife of the Vice President, Hajiya Nana Shettima, underscored the need for women to embrace investment opportunities, while leveraging on digital platforms.

She said stakeholders have a role to play in sustaining women-led enterprises and investments.

Mrs Tinubu said inclusivity in governance was pivotal to success, especially to foster digital access, trade readiness, and competitiveness.

“I urge all stakeholders present, governments, financial institutions, and non-profit organisations to sustain investment in women-led enterprises .

“I also want to urge them to continue to support inclusive policies that foster digital access, trade readiness, and competitiveness,” she said.

Mrs Tinubu said in the present-day reality, Nigerian women, professional designers, and Afro-processor tech innovators require support to leverage e-commerce, online platforms, and payment systems to grow their businesses across the world.

“Let your projects and ideas reflect the excellence and innovation that you find in Nigeria’s markets,” she said.

Okonjo-Iweala, on her part, said the inauguration came at a time when total global trade stood at 30.4 trillion dollar with digital trade, representing the fastest-growing segment.

She said that WEIDE Fund would roll out in four countries, including Jordan, Mongolia, the Dominican Republic and Nigeria.

She added that Nigeria’s selection followed a fiercely competitive process involving over 600 business support organisations worldwide.

The WTO boss advised Nigeria on its low internet penetration, with more than half of the population still offline.

She said this situation could limit the country’s ability to tap into the fast-growing global digital trade market. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng,)

Edited by Rotimi Ijikanmi