Tunis hosts first COMESA women entrepreneurs trade fair in North Africa, launching five-year integration plan

Tunis hosted the 7th edition of the COMESA Federation of Women in Business Regional Trade Fair and Business Conference from 1 to 3 July 2026 at the headquarters of the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA), making it the first time the event has been held in North Africa.

More than 500 women entrepreneurs, senior officials and investors from all 21 member states of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) gathered under the theme "One Market, One Future: Digital Pathways to COMESA Integration," according to post-event reporting by La Presse de Tunisie.

The event, known as CTF7, was organised by Tunisia's National Chamber of Women Entrepreneurs (CNFCE) with the backing of the Tunisian government and ran alongside COMESA Week, a broader institutional forum that opened in Tunis on 29 June.

Strategic plan launched

The opening session on 1 July saw the formal launch of COMFWB's 2026–2030 strategic plan, drawn from the African Union's Agenda 2063. Leila Belkhiria Jaber, president of the CNFCE and vice-president of COMFWB, said the plan aims to deepen women entrepreneurs' participation in intra-COMESA and African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) trade, widen access to finance, and make digital tools a driver of economic competitiveness.

COMESA Secretary-General Chileshe Mpundu Kapwepwe attended the forum and said digital transformation must benefit women, youth and smaller enterprises rather than large corporations alone, Channel Africa reported.

Tunisia's Minister of Trade and Export Development, Samir Abid, said trade between Tunisia and COMESA member states had grown significantly between 2019 and 2025. He pointed to ongoing reforms including expanded digital trade services, simplified administrative procedures and a more attractive investment climate, according to the COMESA Secretariat.

Exhibition floor and business meetings

More than 150 exhibitors from Tunisia and other COMESA member countries took part in the trade fair, with agri-food industries and crafts the dominant sectors, the Webmanager Centre reported. The programme also included more than 200 bilateral business meetings, matching companies with regional and international financial institutions.

Representatives of major international bodies attended, including the African Development Bank, the United Nations, the International Labour Organisation and the GIZ, RTCI reported.

Tunisia's Minister of Family, Women, Children and the Elderly, Asma Jabri, said Tunisia intends to serve as a gateway for African economic exchanges within COMESA and the AfCFTA, and described the government's approach as shifting from simple financing towards comprehensive support, with investment directed at renewable and digital sectors.

French partnership and wider Africa push

France's ambassador to Tunisia, Anne Guéguen, addressed the conference and referenced the "Qawafel" cooperation project, a French-funded initiative of €3.8 million that has accompanied more than 170 Tunisian small and medium enterprises towards African markets, according to La Presse. She said 250 Tunisian firms had concluded commercial contracts with partners in Mauritania, Senegal, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya through the scheme.

UTICA president Samir Majoul said intra-African trade still faces significant physical, customs and logistics barriers, but that e-commerce platforms, fintech solutions and mobile payment tools give women entrepreneurs direct access to new markets.

A regional first for North Africa

The previous six editions of the COMFWB trade fair were held in Malawi, Ethiopia, Zambia, Uganda, Egypt and Madagascar. Tunisia ratified its accession to COMESA in 2019 and ratified the AfCFTA agreement in 2020.

COMESA spans 21 member states and a combined market of more than 600 million consumers. The CNFCE, which hosted the event, has led Tunisia's COMFWB chapter since the organisation's establishment and has Belkhiria Jaber serving simultaneously as president of the national chamber and vice-president of the continental federation.

Partnership and cooperation agreements between economic institutions were signed on the sidelines of the summit, African Manager reported, with the aim of consolidating investment across the COMESA area. The precise number of agreements concluded had not been confirmed in sources reviewed at the time of publication.