The Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Wamkele Mene, has called for coordinated action to place women entrepreneurs at the heart of Africa’s trade agenda, saying the continent’s economic transformation depends on the women driving cross-border commerce.
Speaking at the HerAfCFTA Regional Conference 2026 in Abuja, Mene said empowering women in trade is essential to unlocking the full potential of the AfCFTA and accelerating inclusive economic growth across the continent.
He stressed that Africa’s transformation cannot be achieved without deliberate efforts to support women-led businesses, many of which play a critical role in regional and informal cross-border trade.
According to the AfCFTA Secretary-General, governments, development partners and the private sector must work together to remove barriers limiting women’s participation in trade while expanding access to finance, markets, digital tools and capacity-building opportunities.
Mene highlighted the adoption of the world’s first legally binding Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade under the AfCFTA Agreement as a landmark step towards ensuring women and young entrepreneurs benefit from the continent’s expanding single market.
He noted that the protocol provides a framework for addressing structural challenges facing women and youth in trade, while promoting inclusive policies designed to enhance their participation in regional value chains and cross-border commerce.
The AfCFTA chief said successful implementation of the protocol will require strong collaboration among member states and stakeholders to translate policy commitments into tangible opportunities for women entrepreneurs across Africa.
The HerAfCFTA Regional Conference brought together policymakers, business leaders, development partners and women entrepreneurs to explore strategies for strengthening women’s participation in intra-African trade and advancing inclusive economic development under the AfCFTA framework.
Participants at the conference underscored the importance of creating an enabling business environment that allows women-owned enterprises to scale across borders, access new markets and contribute more significantly to Africa’s industrialisation and economic integration.
Mene reaffirmed the AfCFTA Secretariat’s commitment to ensuring that women and youth remain central to the implementation of the continental free trade agreement, describing their participation as indispensable to building a more prosperous, resilient and integrated Africa.
