By:Fransina Nghidengwa
Women and youth face various challenges in trading across borders and are confronted by many barriers to trade.
This is according to Industrialisation andTrade Minister Lucia Ipumbu who was officiating the Southern Africa Youth Consultative Workshop on the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade in Windhoek yesterday.
Organised by government, through the Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade (MIT) and in collaboration with the Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Service and the National Youth Council of Namibia, the two-day consultative workshop aims to generate issues for inclusion in the Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade and e-Commerce as well as to enhance access to economic opportunities for the youth at national and regional levels through sustainability in youth priority sectors.
Minister Ipumbu said the Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade should address the persistent challenges faced by women in trade and provide solutions in terms of better border governance and trade facilitation.
She called on the participants to make recommendations that will lead state parties to implement necessary instruments at the national level that will lead to the removal of all constraints impeding the participation of women and youth in trade and recommendations on how e-commerce could enhance continental trade in general.
Ipumbu further said the agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area recognises the role of women and youth in trade and the importance of empowering them to fully participate and benefit from such an agreement.
Namibia has identified key sectors where women and youth have a competitive advantage, such as agriculture, aquaculture, cosmetics sector and textiles.
“Regional Value Chains are part of Namibia’s Industry Growth Programme which is part of the ongoing efforts to reinforce Namibia’s economic growth, to reduce income inequality, and to increase employment for its citizens,” she said.
She further said that the workshop should therefore, discuss and identify issues for inclusion in the Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade and E-Commerce, as well as to enhance access to economic opportunities for the youth at national and regional levels through sustainable youth priority sectors.
“Stakeholder engagement and information sharing continue to be very important to the successful development of the protocols on Women and Youth in Trade and E-commerce.”
Ipumbu added that in the area of e-commerce, digital technologies, and appropriately tailored rules for the digital economy, the Protocol on Digital Trade presents a unique opportunity for Africa to achieve digital and financial inclusion, and to enhance digital innovation.
Women And Youth Faced Challenges In Trading Across Borders
