The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has praised President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms for stabilising Nigeria’s economy despite widespread hardship, and called on the government to focus next on growth and protecting vulnerable citizens.

Mrs Okonjo-Iweala, a former Nigeria finance minister, said this on Thursday while speaking to journalists after her meeting with Mr Tinubu.

“You cannot really improve an economy unless it’s stable. So he has to be given the credit for the stability of the economy. So the reforms have been in the right direction. What is needed next is growth,” the WTO FG said.

She added that while stability is important, it must be followed by measures to protect those most affected by reforms such as the removal of fuel subsidies and the unification of exchange rates, changes that have driven up living costs.

She emphasised the need for stronger social safety nets to shield Nigerians from the impact of sweeping reforms.

“We need to put in social safety nets so that people who are feeling the pinch of the reforms can also have some support to be able to weather the hardship. How do we build social safety net to help Nigerians cushion the hardship they are feeling? And then, how do we grow the economy so we can create more jobs and put more money in people’s pockets? These are issues that we discussed with Mr President,” she said.

Since taking office in 2023, Mr Tinubu has removed long-standing fuel subsidies, unified multiple exchange rates, and addressed central bank financing of budget deficits, policies aimed at fiscal discipline and economic liberalisation.

These moves boosted macroeconomic stability and investor confidence but they also brought painful consequences for citizens in soaring inflation and high cost-of-living.

Export Fund
The DG also announced that 146 Nigerian women entrepreneurs have been selected to receive grants and business support under a new Women Exporters Fund for the digital economy.

The fund, launched in Abuja earlier in the day with the support of First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, is jointly managed by the WTO and the International Trade Centre (ITC) in Geneva. The initiative is designed to help women weather economic challenges, create jobs and contribute more to the economy.

“This is a fund… to help support the economy and support women to be able to weather the storms of the economy and be able to create jobs for themselves [and] for others. It is part of thinking of what is a social safety net,” Mrs Okonjo-Iweala said.

According to her, Nigeria is one of four countries worldwide that won the right to join the scheme.

The country was selected following efforts led by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment and the Nigerian Export Promotion Council.

“The Minister of Trade and Industry has been shepherding this effort in Nigeria, along with the Nigeria Export Promotion Council. Nigeria competed and won one of four countries that won globally to be part of this new initiative.

“We had 67,000 Nigerian women who applied for this and 146 …won, and they are going to have money disbursed directly to them. 16 of them won what we call the booster track, those who already have businesses, but their businesses will be scaled up,” she said.

They will receive 18 months of technical and business support from the WTO and ITC, working with the ministry and local partners.

Another 100 women will receive $5,000 each to start or strengthen their businesses, with 12 months of business support.

“This is just the beginning,” Mrs Okonjo-Iweala said, adding that the aim is for the businesses to expand, employ more people, and put money “in their households’ pocket and in the nation’s pocket.”