The United States Department of Commerce has begun talks to increase the participation of women in business between Nigeria and America. 

The Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for the Middle East and Africa, Camille Richardson, spoke on the Women Empowered Leave Legacies through Trade and Investment (WELLTI) initiative on Wednesday. 

The platform is to offer the United States support for its businesswomen and their partners who trade and invest between the United States and Africa and the Middle East.  

The deliberations were held between Ms Richardson and a number leading women business leaders and entrepreneurs as part of her virtual visit to Nigeria.  

The discussion included Ifeyinwa Afe, Managing Director for Central Africa at HP; Temitope Iluyemi, Senior Director of Global Government Relations & Public Policy (Africa) at Procter and Gamble; Christina Struller, Vice President of Public Affairs at UPS; Vani Malik, General Manager at Kimberly Clark; and Margaret Olele, Chief Executive Officer of the American Business Council.  

“As both of our economies are actively engaged in recovery from the global pandemic, increased participation of women in business and as entrepreneurs is needed to help drive economic growth,” Ms Richardson said in the press release from the Department. 

In the course of the deliberations, perspectives on women’s entrepreneurship and potential for business relations between women-led businesses in the United States and Nigeria were discussed, as well as efforts to help confront the common challenges business women experience.

In line with WELLTI initiative, Ms Richardson reiterated her commitment to follow activities involving business women across Africa and Middle East in a bid to bridge the market between U.S. businesswomen and those in Africa and the Middle East, noting that she will participate in a virtual conference next month, and engage  with business women business leaders from Nigeria, Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates.

“Women continue to demonstrate that when provided with market information, access to finance and the right networks, there is no limit to what they can accomplish. This is the inspiration behind WELLTI.

“We are connecting women to information and networks to facilitate their ability to enter and/or expand into markets across Africa and the Middle East. Women entrepreneurs and business leaders are needed now more than ever!” Deputy Assistant Secretary Richardson explained.   

Ms Richardson maintained the U.S. government’s support for women’s inclusion in Nigeria, emphasising that accelerating women’s economic empowerment is critical to ensure that developing countries can achieve economic self-reliance and transition from being aid partners to trade partners.