Fostering Women’s Participation in Trade Between Scotland and Africa: Lessons from Energy and Agriculture

Women-led businesses are increasingly driving innovation and economic vitality across both Scotland and Africa. Yet the Gender Export Gap Report, commissioned by the Scottish government, reveals that only 15% of women-led SMEs in Scotland currently export, despite evidence that closing this gap could unlock up to £10.3 billion over two years if women-led businesses exported at the same rate as those led by men.

The barriers women face are not abstract; they are rooted in structural, logistical, and cultural challenges that disproportionately affect their ability to engage in international trade. Yet there are so many areas of opportunity for women-led businesses to take advantage, particularly when considering sectors like energy and agriculture, which are central to both the economic health of Scottish exporters and economies across Africa.

This year, we co-founded the Women in Trade Hub (WiTH) UK in order to empower women to be able to take advantage of trade opportunities more intentionally, whilst also being a signposting hub of support and resources, and driving forward the future pipeline of young women coming into trade roles.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the challenges women-led businesses in Scotland face looking to engage with global value chains.

1. Gendered Barriers in Global Value Chains

Across all sectors, women can experience disproportionate access challenges to:

•            Export-relevant networks

•            Trade finance and investment

•            Market intelligence and mentorship

•            Policy influence and sector-specific opportunities

Recent feedback from WiTH UK’s stakeholders highlights there is a growing need to provide ‘support for women in trade across their different roles: as traders, exporters, consumers, employees, and entrepreneurs; [to provide] awareness on possible gains from trade; equitable gains; increased access to information, and [access to] finance’.

These gaps constrain not only individual entrepreneurs but, as a knock-on effect, the broader economic and social potential of women-led enterprises.

Case Study: Women in the Energy Sector

The energy sector, spanning renewables, clean technologies, grid innovation, and energy services, holds immense promise for collaboration between Scotland and African nations.

For example, the Scottish government published a Renewables Exports Action Plan earlier this year to grow Scotland’s renewables exports, which included a commitment to provide targeted grant support to help SMEs undertake market research, product promotion, market visits and/or attend specialist events aimed at increasing their global footprint.

It is vital that women-led businesses can take advantage of this kind of support – and, critically, that they know that it is available.

Key challenges for women in the energy sector can include:

•            Skills pipeline barriers: Fewer women enter Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) pathways that feed energy-sector innovation.

•            Limited access to capital: Energy projects often require substantial upfront investment, a barrier that is more acute for women-led businesses.

•            Underrepresentation in procurement chains: Large-scale energy tenders and cross-border partnerships tend to favour established players, typically male-led firms.

•            Lack of targeted export support: Women innovators in energy technologies may have strong products or solutions but insufficient support to navigate African market entry.

Despite these hurdles, there is growing evidence that when women participate in energy value chains - from solar distribution to community-led mini-grid solutions - outcomes improve for entire communities. Empowering more women-led Scottish enterprises to engage with Africa’s rapidly expanding renewable energy markets would unlock both commercial and social value.

Case Study: Women in Agriculture and Agritech

Agriculture remains one of the most important sectors for trade between Scotland and Africa. Yet women who form a majority of the agricultural labour force in many African countries, face disproportionate barriers:

•            Informality and land access: Women farmers often operate informally or lack secure land rights, limiting their ability to scale, formalise, or export.

•            Fragmented value chains: Women are frequently positioned at the least profitable stages of the supply chain.

•            Technology gaps: Women-led agribusinesses often have less access to agritech solutions, market data, and digital tools that could help them meet export standards.

•            Financial exclusion: Access to credit, collateral, and working capital remains a significant barrier to participating in higher-value export markets.

Interestingly, support for African women in engaging with intra-Africa trade appears somewhat stronger, as showcased by the recent SheTrades: Empowering Women in the African Continental Free Trade Area project demonstrated. They supported with capacity building, networking and effective policy advocacy. A lack of policy advocacy is sometimes an under-recognised barrier when we consider empowering women in trade, but it is crucial. Without women actively feeding into the frameworks which shape trade policy decisions, it won’t be reflective of their needs.

For Scottish women-led agritech and food businesses, opportunities abound (as we have laid out above) - from sustainable packaging to precision farming, seed innovation, and climate-smart food systems. But the same structural barriers: capital, networks, confidence, and access to cross-border partnerships – can limit their participation.

2. The Need for Stronger Cross-Border Support Systems

Whether in energy, agriculture, or other high-growth sectors, several core interventions can unlock progress.

Specifically, feedback from our Women in Trade Hub UK network shows that we need:

• Stronger knowledge and market-intelligence platforms tailored to the needs of women entrepreneurs.

• Sector-specific export pathways that reflect the realities of energy and agricultural markets.

• Cross-border mentorship programmes connecting Scottish women innovators with African women leaders in trade, science, agriculture, and investment.

• Policy engagement mechanisms that increase women’s influence in shaping trade frameworks.

• Financing models that recognise gender-specific barriers in accessing capital for export.

Stakeholders stress the need to ensure these platforms and pathways ‘actively promote opportunities [and] in doing so, are signposting the support available, and shining a light on success stories to inspire more women’. Furthermore, efforts should be focused on identifying or creating ‘government led incentives and funding to get the message out to female led businesses, and women in business generally that there is help available and provide support where it's needed…across all work-types, to include law and finance as well as operations’. 

The Scottish Government’s Export Growth Plan outlines the broader strategic context in which these interventions can occur, but it’s crucial that women-led SMEs are explicitly included in these efforts.

3. A Moment for Collective Action

Scotland and Africa share deep expertise in renewable energy, agriculture, and sustainable development. Yet the full potential of this partnership cannot be realised without meaningfully including women, who are already powering innovation but face outsized obstacles in taking their work global.

Events, such as those held during Scotland London Africa Week, play an important role in bringing together women from business, government, and entrepreneurship to address these barriers head-on. By spotlighting sector-specific challenges and solutions, these convenings help shape more inclusive pathways for the next generation of women exporters.

Closing the gender export gap is not simply an economic imperative, it is a strategic opportunity.

By understanding and addressing the specific barriers women face in key sectors like energy and agriculture, Scotland and Africa can build a more inclusive and resilient trade relationship, one that recognises the crucial role women already play and supports them to lead even more boldly in the future.

Women in Trade Hub UK (WiTH UK) co-founders: Dr. Rebecca Wilde, Head of Business Innovation, Supply Chain & Trade at University of Warwick and Grace Thompson, UK Public Affairs Lead, Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade