TradeMark Africa (TMA) and the Centre for International Studies and Cooperation (CECI) funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) are implementing the “Make Trade Work for Women (MTWW)” Project. The MTWW is designed to break down gender-specific barriers that restrict the participation of women and young people in trade across six West African countries: Burkina Faso, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria. The MTWW programme aims to ensure that the AfCFTA benefits all stakeholders, especially women traders.
It is set to directly impact 80,000 individuals (70% women, 20% youth) and indirectly benefit 20,000 more traders. It seeks to enhance trade value, create employment opportunities, strengthen supply chains, and improve the trading environment in the region.
Africa Trade Academy has been hired to help the project better understand the gender dynamics and design targeted interventions using Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) tool. The GBA+ is a rigorous method for assessing systemic inequalities and a way to determine how different groups of women, men and gender-diverse people may experience policies, programs and initiatives. The GBA+ will play a crucial role in this project by analyzing systemic inequalities understanding how different gender identities and intersecting factors, such as race, age, and disability, impact women’s access to trade opportunities.