Johannesburg, South Africa – 05 November 2025:
Whip Music, a music-tech company founded by Melissa Kariuki, that was recently recognised among the GRAMMYs’ 13 Women Shaping African Music in 2025, has been selected to join the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) flagship initiative, eTrade for Women.
The appointment places Whip Music among 353 women-led digital enterprises from 69 countries championing inclusive digital trade and sustainable growth.
The company’s inclusion underscores Africa’s growing global influence in the creative and digital economy and marks a major milestone for women-founded tech ventures shaping Africa’s role in global trade.
eTrade for Women, supported by the governments of Australia, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland, aims to strengthen the role of women digital entrepreneurs as influential voices in public-policy dialogues at the local, regional and global levels.
“There are so many women running digital trade businesses across Africa; many without even realising that what they do every day is part of global trade,” said Melissa Kariuki, Founder & CEO of Whip Music. “Yet, too often, women are left out of the policy conversations that define how that trade works. For us, joining this network isn’t just an honour, it’s a responsibility. With the backing of the United Nations, Whip Music will actively amplify its voice in policymaking spaces to ensure women and creatives are included in shaping a more equitable digital economy.”
This milestone follows Whip Music’s representation at the World Trade Organization’s Public Forum in Geneva, Switzerland last month, where Kariuki discussed the creative economy’srole in global trade and the policy frameworks needed to unlock its growth. The company’s inclusion in UNCTAD’s eTrade for Women Community reflects a continuation of that advocacy journey: championing better digital policies, trade frameworks and infrastructure that enable Africa’s creative industries to thrive. Its selection reflects growing global recognition of Africa’s innovators shaping the intersection of creativity, technology and trade.
Through its appointment, Whip Music joins an influential circle of women-founded technology businesses driving innovation and inclusive growth by leveraging digital tools to solve local and global challenges.
Whip Music’s mission is to enable African creators to succeed globally; not only by providing AI-driven marketing solutions but by advocating for the digital policies that make sustainable success possible. Africa’s creative economy is valued at US$58.4 billion, contributing about 4% of the continent’s GDP, yet it represents less than 0.3% of global creative exports.
With the right digital policies and trade frameworks, analysts project that African creative exports could reach US$200 billion by 2030, potentially accounting for 10% of global creative goods trade.
Whip Music’s membership in eTrade for Women underscores the growing recognition of Africa’s creative industries, not merely as cultural assets but as strategic drivers of global trade.
“For too long, creativity has been seen purely as culture,” Kariuki added. “It’s one of Africa’s highest-potential commodities. With the right digital infrastructure and trade frameworks,