The Enhancing Capacities of Women and Youth-Led Enterprises for Regional Trade (ECoWYERT) Program is a five-year, multi-country regional initiative designed to facilitate participation of women and youth-led enterprises in regional trade under the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). 

In partnership with the Mastercard Foundation and led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the program will be co-implemented by UNDP, the COMESA Federation of Women in Business (COMFWB), the Better Than Cash Alliance (BTCA) and the Trade and Development Fund (TDF) across six countries: Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe from 2025 to 2030.

 The program responds to persistent barriers facing women and young people, especially young women in rural and peri-urban areas, including limited business skills, low market readiness, weak access to finance, digital exclusion and an ecosystem that is often fragmented and insufficiently responsive to their needs. ECoWYERT will address these constraints through an integrate.