Boosting Women in Business: SheTrades Brazil Hub Kicks Off

Mr. Jorge Viana, President, ApexBrasil; Ms. Ana Repezza, Business Director, ApexBrasil; H.E. Stephanie Al-Qaq, British Ambassador to Brazil; Ms. Aline Damasceno Ferreira Schleicher, Deputy Executive Secretary, Brazil’s Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services. Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, Welcome.

Before I begin, I would like to express ITC’s solidarity and support to the people of Brazil for the losses they have experienced from the horrific wildfires, floods, and devastating droughts in recent months.

We know that, too often, these natural disasters impact those among us who are already vulnerable, particularly women, and they are a devastating reminder of the incessant threat that climate change poses to our world.

We’re here today in the hopes of making a better future possible—especially at this time of great risk—for the small businesses that drive Brazil’s economy.

And it’s why, despite this painful backdrop, we do have things we can celebrate, and that give us some cause for hope—like today’s launch of a new SheTrades Hub, the 19th to date and the fifth for Latin America and the Caribbean.

And I couldn’t be more excited to be launching this Hub with ApexBrasil—our longstanding partner and friend, and an institution with an impressive track record of championing connected, sustainable, and inclusive trade.

We’ve seen that in action time and time again, including through ApexBrasil’s women in international business programme—which was recently named by its peers as the best initiative to ensure trade is inclusive and sustainable at the 2024 World Trade Promotion Organizations’ Awards.

Jorge, Ana, we’re honoured to be working with you and the ApexBrasil team to help more women gain the skills, resources, and networks to trade.

And I’m looking forward to our wider discussions with ApexBrasil on how we can work together more closely on diversifying exports, attracting investments, providing access to trade intelligence, and building institutional capacity so that more SMEs can trade, particularly those in underserved regions.

The SheTrades Hubs are, to put it mildly, powerhouses. This year alone, they have served over 1000 women-led businesses, from Kenya to Mauritius, from Mongolia to Argentina.

And for all of the big wins they’ve achieved individually, they are even more impressive for what they’ve achieved together as a global network—including through their advocacy on behalf of women-led MSMEs at global events like the WTO Public Forum.

I can’t wait to see what the SheTrades Hubs network will achieve next, now that Brazil has joined their ranks.

Women’s economic empowerment and gender equality, as we all know from experience, are goals that we must keep working at daily.

Some days we’ll see big wins, and on other days we’ll face painful setbacks.

We’re seeing some of these big wins already in Brazil—like the adoption of the Transversal Women’s Agenda 2024-2027 and the National Strategy for Female Entrepreneurship.

We’re seeing more women entrepreneurs able to access financial instruments, like microcredit and working capital, that are tailored to their specific needs and circumstances.

And we’re also seeing that, even with these big wins, there’s still more left to do, with only 14% of Brazil’s exporting companies having women majority boards.

But when I think about the work that lies ahead, I’m reminded that we’re fortunate to stand on the shoulders of those who have come before us—and who made it possible for us to push harder, and dream bigger, than what conventional wisdom deemed possible.

I think of people like Brazil’s own Bertha Lutz, who is the reason that the Charter of the United Nations includes an express reference to the equal rights of women and men—and who was one of just four women to sign the charter, nearly 80 years ago.

And I think of the leadership that the Brazilian government is showing daily on the international stage, including by putting the issue of women and trade front and centre in the G20’s Trade and Investment Working Group—where it rightly belongs.

Brazil is also showing that same leadership at home, on an issue that is vital for the country, the region, and the world: agriculture and food security.

The Brazilian Food Acquisition Program’s decision to treat women as a priority group is making a critical difference for family farmers in rural areas.

And it’s also proof positive of the Brazilian government’s commitment to making public procurement more gender-responsive.

We’re grateful for Brazil’s statement of support to our global campaign with UN Women on gender-responsive public procurement, and I look forward to working with the Brazilian government in its efforts to ensure more women-led businesses can grow, compete, and trade, including in those areas identified by the SheTrades Outlook.

Today is the first day of an exciting new chapter for ITC, ApexBrasil, and the Brazilian government.

But, even more importantly, it’s our chance to ensure the small and medium-sized enterprises we serve, especially those led by women, have the support they deserve—so they can write their own next chapters, on their own terms.

Thank you all.