The appointment of Nigeria’s Ngozi Okojo – lweala as the first African and woman director of World
Trade Organization (WTO) to restore trust in a rules-based global trading system has been received with
a lot of goodwill in the African continent. However, the question now remains, in the contemporary world
of corona virus and climate emergency challenges, will Ngozi be the hope for the indigenous,
marginalized and voiceless African woman in Owino or Gikomba or Kariakor markets trying to juggle
between maintaining a profit margin and sustaining their families’ livelihoods?
According to the World Bank, Africa is the only region in the world where more women than men choose
to become entrepreneurs – a phenomenon that is not the subject of adequate discussion. While this
happens, the continent is equally the most hit by the impacts of climate change. Now, so that I do not
lose you, availability of market goods and services is directly linked to the intensity of the impacts of
climate change. Meaning, goods are likely to disappear or appear from and in any African market with
any slight record in climatic changes over time – explains the continued fluctuating prices of goods and
services in the African continent.
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