A new global initiative called the Global Trade Accelerator (GTA), under the banner Connecting One Million Women to Trade (C1WT), was launched to help women-led businesses scale across borders and enter global markets. The GTA is a digital platform built to onboard, support and connect one million women entrepreneurs from 102 countries with international buyers and investors and trade networks.
The GTA represents the world’s first 8 pillar global digital trade system designed especially for women entrepreneurs. Its aim is to simplify cross border trade by digitizing business setup, easing global markets access, and aligning trade policy alignment.
According to estimates, the platform could help unlock up to US$900 billion in new commerce led by women across Africa, the Caribbean, the Americas, and the global diaspora. The driving idea behind GTA is to shift from symbolic gestures to tangible systems, creating real structural support for women-led businesses and advancing economic inclusion for women. This reflects global commerce growth and encourages market expansion for SMEs.
The initiative had its public debut at a trade and investment event in Barbados hosted by the GUBA Trade and Investment Conference, before being formally unveiled in Accra, Ghana. High level backing poured in, including from government leaders and business organisations across several regions.
Supporters praised the platform’s potential to bridge markets across continents. The former vice president of Costa Rica described it as a framework that could accelerate women-led businesses and women entrepreneurs through Atlantic trade corridors, helping connect African, Caribbean and American economies. The platform also shows how GTA supports women led global trade by strengthening systems that guide women-centered global trade opportunities.
During the event in Accra, the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) highlighted Ghana’s contribution as a major entry point in world trade. On the other hand, the National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) introduced their newly developed tools through the 360i Innovation and Entrepreneurial Hub, which is designed to provide women entrepreneurs with enhanced access to capital and investor networks and expand trade and investment participation.
Moreover, George Washington University and other institutions have similarly indicated their intention to feature the Digital Trade Accelerator at the next global economic forums linked to the 2026 World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings. This step is likely to attract more institutional interest and investment while increasing international buyers and investors engagement.
So what is the real impact of this on women entrepreneurs. Simply put, it is an opportunity to look beyond local markets. Thanks to the Global Trade Accelerator, women-led businesses can go global, discover new markets, attract investors, and be integrated into a global trade system that is well organized. This includes a clearer path to global markets access, cross border trade, and digital trade platform for women entrepreneurs participation. It also supports Unlocking new markets for women owned SMEs by making market expansion for SMEs more achievable.
If the goals are achieved, this could be the most significant effort to use trade as a tool for global commerce growth with inclusion of the marginalized. It strengthens economic inclusion for women, demonstrates How GTA supports women led global trade, and strengthens the broader Digital Trade Accelerator mission.
