DAW launches business ecosystem for women entrepreneurs, names Uzoka-Anite ambassador

The initiative marks a new phase in the organisation’s efforts to support women-owned businesses, shifting its focus from training and empowerment to creating practical opportunities for business growth and cross-border trade.

DAW said it has empowered more than 20,000 women and provided over 6,000 microloans across 15 countries in Africa and Europe.

The new ecosystem comprises two major platforms, the DAW Cooperative and the DAW Digital Marketplace, supported by a Masterclass Hub and a Venture Studio designed to strengthen entrepreneurs’ business development and growth prospects.

Founder of DAW, HRM Khadijat Abdulkadir, said the initiative was established to address persistent barriers preventing women entrepreneurs from turning their ideas and skills into sustainable businesses.

“When DAW began in Belgium, I was driven by a simple conviction: African women have the talent, ideas and ambition to build, but talent alone is not enough. Access matters — access to markets, technology, finance and the right people,” she said.

DAW launched its Cooperative in Abuja in 2025 at a high-level workshop hosted by the Belgian Ambassador to Nigeria. The event was attended by the European Union Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot; Belgium’s Ambassador, Pieter Leenknegt; and former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) chairman, Farida Waziri, among other dignitaries.

In 2026, the organisation expanded its operations into East Africa with the launch of the DAW Digital Marketplace in Kenya, in partnership with LEAP Africa. The event brought together LEAP Africa’s Managing Director, Kehinde Ayeni; its Director of Programmes and Partnerships, Amabelle Nwakanma; and beneficiaries of the platform.

Speaking at the Kenya launch, Abdulkadir said DAW’s next decade would focus on providing entrepreneurs with the infrastructure and tools needed to access wider markets.

“We have spent 10 years training and empowering entrepreneurs. The next 10 years is about providing a platform that gives them access,” she said.

She questioned the practical benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) for small businesses that continue to face difficulties with logistics and payment systems when trading across African borders.

“If I’m a coffee maker in Gambia, I want to sell to someone in Nigeria without worrying whether it will get there,” she added.

The DAW Digital Marketplace is designed to help entrepreneurs establish and manage their online businesses through personal digital storefronts with branded subdomains, sales and growth analytics, order management, integrated logistics and a secure digital wallet.

The platform also provides continuous learning opportunities through its Masterclass Hub, giving business owners access to training intended to improve their commercial and operational capabilities.

As part of the initiative, DAW announced Nigeria’s Minister of State for Budget and Economic Planning, Dr Doris Nkiruka Uzoka-Anite, as an ambassador of the organisation.

Uzoka-Anite is a medical doctor with an MBBS degree from the University of Benin, a TRIUM Global Executive MBA and the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. She previously worked in banking before taking on public-sector leadership responsibilities.

In her current role, she contributes to Nigeria’s economic and development planning, including efforts linked to the country’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy by 2030.

DAW said Uzoka-Anite’s advocacy for women and efforts to address the gender gap in economic leadership informed her appointment as ambassador.

The organisation recently marked its 10th anniversary with an International Women’s Day Empowerment Series in Lagos, themed “Accelerate Her Power: Rights. Justice. Action.”

DAW said its long-term mission remains to create opportunities for women to lead, innovate and transform their communities through entrepreneurship, with the new ecosystem expected to help women-owned businesses gain greater visibility, reach new customers and participate more effectively in regional and international trade.