Call for Applications: WTO Women Exporters in the Digital Economy (WEIDE) Fund for Business Support Organizations

Reach us on

The World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Trade Centre (ITC) have jointly launched a pioneering initiative, the Women Exporters in the Digital Economy (WEIDE) Fund. The US$50 million fund aims to empower women entrepreneurs in growing their businesses by leveraging international trade and digitalization.

Women Exporters in the Digital Economy (WEIDE) Fund Objectives

The WEIDE Fund will unlock opportunities in international trade and digital trade for women entrepreneurs by improving their access to:

Funds: providing grants and working with financial institutions to close the access to finance gap.
Skills, knowledge, and competences: providing technical assistance and access to information related to digital skills and export competitiveness.
Markets: connecting women to digital market platforms.
Networks and support services: the Fund will create more inclusive and effective business ecosystems including leveraging partnerships with private and public sector actors.

Benefits for Women-Led Businesses

With the support of the WEIDE Fund, women-led small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) will be able to:

Improve their business operations for increased competitiveness.
Conduct international transactions more effectively.
Utilize new online channels to sell their products and services.
Create and upgrade employment opportunities.
Access additional assistance from corporate partners as a result of fund support.

Eligibility Criteria for Women Exporters in the Digital Economy (WEIDE) Fund

The WEIDE Fund calls on Business Support Organizations (BSOs) to apply to become a WEIDE Fund in-country partner. BSOs are critical to the successful implementation of the fund and will be called upon to support the fund with rolling out the call for applications to women-led MSMEs as well as identifying and leveraging new partnerships for the Fund.
Partner BSOs will be selected based on criteria such as technical and operational capacity, commitment, country development status, and regional representation.
By becoming a partner BSO with the WEIDE Fund, BSOs will be able to better support their women-led MSMEs to increase their export competitiveness, bridge the access to finance gap, and connect to markets through an increased digital presence.

Funding and partnership

The WTO and ITC aim to raise US$ 50 million for the Fund, with an initial target of US$ 25 million, from public and private sector partners. The Fund will actively seek partnerships with various stakeholders, including governments, international organizations, development banks, philanthropic foundations and the private sector to implement initiatives aimed at maximizing the impact of the Fund’s activities. Collaboration and knowledge-sharing will be crucial to achieving sustainable and scalable solutions.

Implementation Process

The Fund’s activities will be implemented through targeted projects in specific countries, in cooperation with Business Support Organizations (BSOs) selected through a competitive call for proposals. A two-track system will be tailored to meet the needs of the targeted MSMEs, including grants and complementary technical assistance.

Targeted Beneficiaries for Women Exporters in the Digital Economy (WEIDE) Fund

The Fund specifically aims to support:

Women-led MSMEs in the formal sector that are currently exporting or are ready to start exporting.
Women-led micro and small enterprises in the formal sector with export potential.