WTO MC14 to Spotlight Women Entrepreneurs and Digital Trade

IWG co-chairs are expected to release a joint statement reaffirming commitments to inclusive trade and enhanced collaboration with other WTO bodies on gender-related issues.

A high-level women and trade event will take place on 25 March 2026 on the margins of the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC14) in Yaoundé, Cameroon, bringing together women entrepreneurs, development partners and WTO members to advance gender-responsive trade policies and digital inclusion.

Registration for the event is open until 22 February.

The gathering will showcase the work of the WTO Informal Working Group on Trade and Gender (IWG), the International Trade Centre’s (ITC) SheTrades Initiative, and the Women Exporters in the Digital Economy (WEIDE) Fund, underscoring growing global efforts to close gender gaps in international trade.

WTO Members Launch New Gender Trade Compendiums

WTO members of the Informal Working Group on Trade and Gender will review progress on gender-responsive trade policy and launch a new compendium compiling the Group’s technical work since its establishment in 2020.

The session will also inaugurate a second joint initiative with the WTO Informal Working Group on Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs). The new publication, titled “Empowering Women to Trade through Digitalisation: Policy Insights,” will examine how digital tools and trade policies can expand opportunities for women entrepreneurs.

IWG co-chairs are expected to release a joint statement reaffirming commitments to inclusive trade and enhanced collaboration with other WTO bodies on gender-related issues.

WEIDE Fund Highlights Barriers in Digital Trade

The Women Exporters in the Digital Economy (WEIDE) Fund will host an interactive session titled “100 WEIDE Women Said,” presenting insights from a survey of women beneficiaries across developing countries.

The session will examine:

• Key barriers limiting women’s participation in digital trade

• Access to finance and digital skills gaps

• Market entry challenges in e-commerce

• Policy and partnership priorities to accelerate inclusion

The event will also feature a quiz-style competition among country teams focused on women’s participation in digital trade. The winning team will receive products from WEIDE-supported businesses.

Launched in 2024 by the WTO Secretariat and ITC, the WEIDE Fund is supported by the United Arab Emirates, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Legacy Fund and the Kingdom of Bahrain.

ITC SheTrades Marks a Decade of Impact

The event will also celebrate the culmination of ITC SheTrades’ 10-year anniversary, marking a decade of advancing women’s participation in global trade.

Two dedicated sessions are planned:

• “Champions of ITC SheTrades” will feature donor and partner reflections on progress made and future partnerships required to expand women’s trade participation.

• “ITC SheTrades Innovation Festival – Made by African Women, Ready for the World” will showcase selected young African women innovators pitching scalable, market-ready solutions designed to meet real-world needs.

The Innovation Festival winner will be announced during the networking reception.

Coffee Sector and Access to Finance Spotlighted

The networking reception will also highlight the Agency for Robusta Coffee of Africa and Madagascar (ACRAM), including its roadmap to expand women’s participation in the coffee value chain and a pilot programme aimed at improving women’s access to finance.

The coffee initiative is supported through the EU-funded African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Business-Friendly Programme, implemented by ITC.

Advancing Inclusive Global Trade

The high-level event at MC14 reflects growing recognition that empowering women entrepreneurs is essential to achieving more inclusive and resilient global trade systems.

By combining policy dialogue, technical knowledge-sharing, digital innovation and private-sector engagement, organizers aim to strengthen partnerships and accelerate progress toward gender-equitable trade participation worldwide.