Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government following the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in April 2018 and the launch of the SheTrades Commonwealth programme in Bangladesh, Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria, how many of the 2,300 women entrepreneurs that registered and 518 companies that attended capacity building events have subsequently initiated or expanded their international trade to date; and what monitoring systems are in place for the future assessment of the efficacy of that programme.

The SheTrades Commonwealth programme has now supported 842 women-owned companies at capacity building and training events. To date, 144 of those companies have consequently participated in trade fairs, subsequently reporting £12.4 million worth of export leads.

The programme adheres to the Department for International Development's monitoring and evaluation standards. Key indicators are tracked through a robust results framework to ensure the women entrepreneurs we support are more competitive and improve their access to markets, and that the taxpayer is getting value for money.