(How Our Women Traders Sustain Families, Drive Commerce, and Build a Thriving Nation).
By Samson Olumuyiwa Olurotimi Oderinde, JP
From Mile 12 to Oyingbo, from Bodija to Alaba, from Lafenwa to Ita-Osu to Oja-Odan, the day does not start until she has arrived.
Before government policies touch the people, her hands have already touched the people. She employs, she feeds, she lends, she mentors.In every naira that circulates at the grassroots, her fingerprints are there.
To ignore the market woman is to ignore the foundation. She is the bedrock of our society. The engine of our economy.
1.The Bedrock of Society – Nurturers and Stabilizers: The market woman is more than a trader. She is mother, mentor, and mobilizer. From the proceeds of her daily sales, she pays school fees, covers hospital bills, and puts food on the table. She is often the first responder to family needs and community emergencies.
By keeping prices stable, extending credit to customers, and training younger girls in the trade, she builds social cohesion and economic resilience from the ground up. When she stands, families stand. When she thrives, communities are stable.
2.The Engine of the Economy – Drivers of Commerce and Jobs: Nigeria’s informal economy runs largely through the market. Market women are the largest distributors of food, fabrics, household goods, and essential commodities.
From Balogun and Mile 12 in Lagos, to Onitsha Main Market and Ariaria in the Southeast, to Bodija in Ibadan and right here in Ogun State at Lafenwa, Ita-Osu, Oja-Odan, and many others, they move goods from farms and factories to the final consumer every single day.
They create jobs directly and indirectly — for porters, suppliers, transporters, and apprentices. They turn little capital into big impact. Without them, supply chains would break and inflation would bite harder. Their hustle is what keeps cash circulating at the grassroots and what sustains SMEs across the country.
3.Challenges and the Need for Support: Despite their contributions, market women face persistent barriers: limited access to formal credit, high cost of goods, poor market infrastructure, insecurity, and multiple taxation.
i. The unending construction of several open market stalls and lock-up shops in many communities around Ogun State, by YAYI particularly— from Lafenwa to Ita-Osu to Oja-Odan and other locations— while commendable, must be completed and equipped on time so traders can move in and begin to benefit. Over 80% of women-owned businesses currently lack access to formal credit, confining many to the informal sector and limiting growth.
ii. It is not yet uhuru; in our quest to ensure socio-economic viability and steady growth, government at all levels needs to do much more, and do so consistently, to support market women and women entirely. To unlock their full potential, these challenges must be addressed deliberately.
4.Government Support: The Renewed Hope for Market Women; Recognizing their central role, the APC-led Federal Government has shifted from advocacy to targeted interventions under the Renewed Hope Agenda,
Through the “Renewed Hope Social Impact Interventions RH-SII 774”, the government is rolling out “grants, microcredit, and enterprise financing” to women across all 774 local government areas.
This is backed by the “Women’s Economic Empowerment Policy 2023” and complemented by the “Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme” and “Market-Moni”, which provide interest-free, collateral-free support of #50,000 to petty traders and MSMEs. These programmes also include “skills acquisition, vocational training, agricultural value-chain support, and mentorship” designed to help women move from survival trading to sustainable, scalable businesses.
Beyond funding, government is opening new markets for women. The newly approved “Affirmative Procurement Policy” guarantees women-owned businesses improved access to government contracts, while initiatives like “SheTrades Nigeria Hub” and the WEIDE Fund are training women in export, digital commerce, and branding.
With a national target to empower 10,000 women-led export businesses by 2030, and support for international certifications, market women are being positioned to compete locally and globally.
These deliberate steps by the Tinubu led-administration acknowledge a simple truth: when you empower the market woman, you strengthen the family, grow the grassroots economy, and build a more prosperous nation.
5.Conclusion: Invest in Her, Grow the Nation: The relevance of market women in national development cannot be overstated. As the bedrock of society and the engine of our economy, they provide the energy, goods, and services that keep our communities alive.
For them to deliver optimally, market women need collaboration and sustained support. They require moral, physical, material, and financial backing from government, the private sector, and well-meaning citizens. This support will spur them to expand, create more jobs, and contribute even more to national prosperity. On the other hand, the women are pleaded with to continue to support the government in all ramifications.
When the resilience of the market woman meets the resources of government and the goodwill of the people, our communities will witness accelerated growth, food security, and prosperity that leaves no one behind.
May God Almighty continue to strengthen our market women with health, wisdom, and prosperity. May He bless their trade, protect their children, and use their hands to build a greater Nigeria. Amen.
The market must continue to thrive. The nation must continue to support. And together, with our market women at the center, Nigeria will continue to rise.
Samson Olumuyiwa Olurotimi Oderinde, JP is former Executive Chairman Yewa North Local Government Area and former Senior Special Adviser to Deputy Governor Ogun State, He writes from Igbogila-Yewa
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