The Women Exporters in the Digital Economy (WEIDE) Fund has named Nigeria among the four pilot countries that will benefit from a funding programme for women entrepreneurs.

The training session and funds are expected to equip women with the digital trade skills necessary to upscale their businesses.

WEIDE, an offshoot of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) secretariat and the International Trade Centre (ITC), selected only Nigeria, Dominican Republic, Jordan and Mongolia from many nations that applied for the funding.

The fund will soon open applications for women in these nations to submit their business proposals for review, and the competition will be tough as only 400 women entrepreneurs will be shortlisted in the first phase of the initiative.

“Applications will open in these countries, inviting women entrepreneurs to submit their business plans and proposals,” said WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Mrs Okonjo-Iweala said the organisation recognised the importance of digital trade in global commerce and sought to empower women to “leapfrog market barriers.”

“As you all know, digital trade is the fastest-growing segment of global commerce, with trade in digitally delivered services reaching an astounding US$ 4.25 trillion in 2023,” Mrs Okonjo-Iweala said in a statement on Friday.

“This fund represents a unique opportunity for women entrepreneurs to develop their businesses, create jobs, and expand into international markets,” the WTO chief explained.

There will be two tracks; selected businesses will receive two instalments between $2,000 and $5,000 in the first track, expected to last about 12 months.

Track Two, women entrepreneurs will get “bespoke coaching” and a booster grant of $30,000 to “scale up their export activities and expand their markets, with a focus on using digital platforms to do so.”

The entrepreneurs are expected to devote 18 months to the Track Two programme, where facilitators will help them develop business acceleration plans.