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By Tracy Moses
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, on Friday said the economic reforms introduced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu under the Renewed Hope Agenda are laying a solid foundation for increased capital inflow and sustainable trade growth in Nigeria.
Oduwole stated that the reforms are designed to create a more competitive and investment-friendly economy capable of connecting Nigeria’s productive capacity with global and regional markets.
She spoke in Abuja at a colloquium focused on the role of women in industry, trade and investment, themed “Positioning Nigeria to Lead Intra-African Trade.”
According to the minister, the government is also strengthening bilateral and global economic partnerships to complement continental integration efforts under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
She disclosed that Nigeria is working with several international platforms, including the U.S.–Nigeria Commercial and Investment Partnership (CIP), the UK–Nigeria Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership (ETIP), and the UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) to expand market access, attract investment and connect Nigerian businesses, particularly women-led enterprises, to global markets and value chains.
Oduwole explained that in 2025, the Ministry strengthened investment facilitation and investor aftercare, gazetted Nigeria’s AfCFTA tariff schedule, launched a new air cargo export corridor, and reinforced the country’s leadership in digital and creative economies through the ratification of the AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol. “The priority is clear: connecting global and regional demand with Nigeria’s supply capacity and the capital required to scale it,” she said.
“This includes expanding long-term industrial financing, strengthening value-chain processing and export readiness, and ensuring that both men- and women-led firms are fully positioned to scale within Africa’s emerging continental market.”
She noted that Nigeria is also playing an active role in shaping Africa’s trade policy direction ahead of the 14th World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference (MC14) scheduled to take place in Yaoundé, Cameroon, in the coming weeks.
The minister said the African Continental Free Trade Area presents a major opportunity for Nigerian and African businesses to expand across borders, but emphasised that access to capital remains critical for firms seeking to take advantage of the continental market.
“The AfCFTA connects about 1.3 billion people with approximately $3.4 trillion in GDP into a single market, making it one of the largest integrated economic zones in the world,” she said.
“However, the scale of its economic impact will depend on the businesses capable of operating across these markets.”
Oduwole noted that only about 345 companies across Africa currently generate more than $1 billion in annual revenue, a figure she said reflects the vast potential for growth across the continent.
“For a continent with more than 200 million businesses, this number shows how much room exists to build globally competitive firms,” she added.
She stressed that achieving such scale requires the full productive capacity of African economies, including women entrepreneurs who already play a significant role in economic activities.
According to her, Nigeria’s ambition under the Renewed Hope Agenda is to build a $1 trillion economy by 2030, anchored on stronger industrial capacity, expanded exports and deeper integration into regional and global markets.
“No country can realistically reach that level of economic scale while leaving half of its entrepreneurial talent and productive capacity under-capitalised,” she said.
“Ensuring that women-led firms can access the capital required to grow strengthens the very foundation of Nigeria’s economic expansion.”
Oduwole observed that women are active participants across trade, services, agriculture, manufacturing and logistics across Africa, but face significant barriers in accessing capital.
She revealed that female-founded companies received less than 10 per cent of venture and growth capital deployed across Africa last year, while the estimated financing gap for women-owned businesses exceeds $49 billion.
“This gap matters because in the era of AfCFTA, access to capital will determine which firms expand across borders, which value chains deepen and which economies capture the benefits of continental trade,” she said.
Also speaking, the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Sen. John Enoh, said the AfCFTA has moved beyond a conceptual framework to become an operational economic architecture with a market of about 1.4 billion people and a combined GDP of $3.4 trillion.
Enoh, however, stressed that trade agreements alone do not create prosperity. “Production creates prosperity. Trade agreements do not industrialise nations, competitive enterprises do,” he said.
He explained that Nigeria’s ambition under AfCFTA is not to become a passive consumer market but a production hub capable of manufacturing, processing, innovating and exporting goods at scale.
According to him, the manufacturing sector currently contributes about 13 to 14 per cent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), compared to 20 to 25 per cent in industrialised economies.
“The gap is not merely statistical; it represents unrealised factories, unrealised exports and unrealised jobs. Closing that gap is the mandate of our new Nigeria Industrial Policy,” he said.
Enoh added that women remain a critical driver of Nigeria’s real economy, noting that more than eight million women-led Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country generate over $15 billion in annual revenue.
Despite their economic contributions, he said women-led businesses receive less than 20 per cent of formal MSME financing, while more than 90 per cent operate informally.
“This is not a capability problem. It is a structural design problem,” he said.
“We have mentorship without capital, finance without readiness and markets without compliance support. If Nigeria is to lead AfCFTA, we must unlock the productive potential of women-led enterprises at scale.”
The Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Suleiman-Ibrahim, also emphasised the need to strengthen women’s participation in trade, noting that women make up about 70 per cent of Nigeria’s agricultural labour force but own less than 14 per cent of agricultural land.
She said empowering women economically would significantly enhance Nigeria’s competitiveness within the AfCFTA framework.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, commended the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment for organising the colloquium, describing women as key drivers of entrepreneurship, innovation and enterprise development across Africa.
She said expanding women’s participation in value chains, manufacturing and cross-border trade would strengthen Nigeria’s competitiveness and accelerate its leadership in intra-African trade.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Ambassador Nura Abba Rimi, said the discussions had reinforced the importance of empowering women-led businesses to fully participate in the opportunities created by the AfCFTA.
He added that Nigeria’s economic transformation under the continental trade framework would not be fully realised without the active participation of women across the country’s productive sectors.