OWIT Nigeria To Host 2nd Series African Women Trade Conference

OWIT Nigeria is set to host the 2nd Series African Women Trade Conference.

The Organization of Women in Trade (OWIT) Nigeria, a trade and investment support organization that works on improving the knowledge and skill base of women on trade laws, policies, rules, and procedures is scheduled to hold an impact-packed four-day conference in Abuja, Nigeria.

This was contained in a statement signed by the President of OWIT Nigeria, Mrs Blessing Irabor-Oza.

According to the statement, this year’s Africa Women Trade Conference on the heels of a successful hosting of its first outing in Nairobi, Kenya, will be hosted by OWIT Nigeria in collaboration with OWIT Zimbabwe, OWIT Nairobi, and OWIT South Africa.

The conference will aim at providing better representation through integration for African women-owned businesses in regional and global value chains. It will help establish a better understanding of the links between gender and trade actions on the African continent and create a platform for African women in trade to navigate potential opportunities to trade in the Nigerian Market, build active partnerships and leverage existing networks.

The conference, ably sponsored by the German Agency for International Cooperation(GIZ-ECOWAS), International Trade Centre (ITC), United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Africa Women & Youth Empowerment Group (AWYEG) is scheduled to span four days and will be launched with a pre-conference summit of stakeholders holding on the 27th day of September 2022, followed by the conference proper on the 28th and 29th to end on the 30th of September 2022 in Abuja, Nigeria with a post-conference consultative summit.

Discussions at the conference are expected to move the needle beyond talks of gender and trade to an actual analysis of benefits and participants of regional and international trade as well as examining how to move up the volume of trade participation.

The four-day event will encompass a high-level stakeholders pre-conference summit on policy dialogue for Women to trade under AfCFTA by Africa Women & Youth Empowerment Group (AWEYEG).

The main conference will hold on the 28th and 29th of September with the theme “Positioning African Women For The Next Big Opportunity In The Regional And Global Marketplace.”

A post-conference summit, which is slated to hold on the 30th will be a consultative engagement on AfCFTA by United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). The summit will bring the conference to an end with a glamorous award night, where an award of excellence for exemplary service will be presented to outstanding services.

The conference will be a convergence of not less than 200 participants coming from 150 travel-eligible regions of Africa and beyond. Amongst them will be Women entrepreneurs, academics, private sector operators, civil society organizations, trade unions, financial institutions, regional and international trade organizations, international development partners, government entities and border agencies.

This conference, as organized by OWIT Nigeria, provides an opportunity for participants to analyze the channels of interaction between trade and gender, as well as discuss the direction of focus for donors and institutions on women empowerment through trade.