The Bank of Industry has announced that its Guaranteed Loan (GLO) scheme offering a 7 percent annual interest rate for women-owned businesses across West Africa is expected to strengthen small and medium-sized enterprises and accelerate regional trade.
Managing Director of the BOI, Olasupo Olusi, disclosed this during an Executive Masterclass organised by the ECOWAS Female Parliamentarians Association in collaboration with WATEX.
The event, which focused on women in trade and export, formed part of the ongoing First Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja.
Represented by the bank’s Head of North Central Operations, Ogo Ifeoma Akabuogu, Olusi said the initiative is designed to expand financial inclusion, improve market access, and create digital opportunities for women entrepreneurs across critical sectors of the regional economy.
According to him, empowering women economically is essential for sustainable growth, regional prosperity, and deeper economic integration within the ECOWAS sub-region.
“Do not look down on yourself. Know that prosperity is out there. After this masterclass, let something in you be activated to aim higher,” he told participants.
The masterclass, themed “Advancing Women Partnership in Global Trade and Export Market,” was organised to strengthen support systems for women entrepreneurs and traders operating across West Africa.
Speaking during the event, Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Memounatou Ibrahima, described women traders as key drivers of regional commerce and social stability despite facing difficult operating conditions.
According to her, many women engaged in cross-border trade continue to struggle with challenges including limited access to finance, poor infrastructure, high compliance costs, and weak policy support.
She stressed the need for continuous capacity-building programmes to equip women with the skills required to negotiate better business deals, expand exports, and access regional and international markets.
“May women not only be present in commercial trade, but be architects at the forefront. May women not be passive beneficiaries, but the main actors in the economic transformation of ECOWAS,” she said.
Trade expert Ngozi Egbuna also highlighted the importance of financial inclusion and policy reforms in driving women-led economic growth across the region.
Egbuna noted that although women dominate informal cross-border trade and contribute significantly to agriculture and digital commerce, they remain largely excluded from formal export systems and trade policy frameworks.
She called for simplified trade procedures, gender-responsive border policies, digital customs systems, and innovative financing models tailored to women-owned businesses.
According to her, financial inclusion for women entrepreneurs should be viewed as a strategic economic priority capable of driving industrialisation, trade expansion, and long-term prosperity across West Africa.
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