While women own around 10 million small-to-midsized businesses worldwide, they face huge obstacles to selling their goods abroad. Likewise, they remain underrepresented in trade, with only one in five export companies owned by females, according to the International Trade Centre. The coronavirus has aggravated major challenges like access to finance and digital inclusion, putting them at a further disadvantage, says Vanessa Erogbogbo, chief of the ITC’s SheTrades initiative, which supports female entrepreneurs. The Geneva-based organization has launched a digital tool to help countries address these issues and track the gender divide in trade.
