The World Trade Organization (WTO) has sounded the alarm over Nigeria’s low internet penetration, with Director-General Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala warning that the country could miss out on the lucrative opportunities offered by global digital trade.
At the Abuja launch of the Women Exporters in the Digital Economy (WEIDE) Fund on Thursday, she disclosed that only 45 percent of Nigerians are online, well below the world average of 67 percent.
“No nation can truly digitize without a steady supply of electricity and reliable, affordable internet,” she stressed. “More than half of Nigerians remain disconnected, and this gap must be closed if we are to seize the opportunities of digital trade.”
Nigeria’s selection for the 2024 WEIDE Fund pilot—alongside Jordan, Mongolia, and the Dominican Republic—was described by Okonjo-Iweala as a competitive achievement. Locally, the programme will be coordinated by the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), led by Executive Director Nonye Ayeni.
More than 67,000 Nigerian women applied for the fund. The overwhelming quality of entries prompted organisers to expand the list of beneficiaries to 146. Sixteen participants in the “Booster Track” will receive up to $30,000 and 18 months of technical support, while 130 in the “Discovery Track” will get up to $5,000 and 12 months of business mentoring.
Okonjo-Iweala lamented that Africa’s share of global digital trade—valued at $4.25 trillion—is under 1 percent, urging inter-ministerial collaboration to bridge infrastructure gaps and empower women to engage in global commerce.
“When women trade internationally, they earn almost three times more than those who sell locally,” she noted. “The WEIDE Fund is about giving Nigerian women the tools, skills, and market access to multiply those gains.”