Whip Music Joins United Nation’s eTrade for Ladies Initiative to Empower Africa’s Inventive Sector

Whip Music, a music-tech firm based by Melissa Kariuki – just lately recognised among the many GRAMMYs’ 13 Ladies Shaping African Music (2025) – has been chosen to hitch the United Nations Convention on Commerce and Growth’s (UNCTAD) flagship initiative, eTrade for Ladies.

The appointment locations Whip Music amongst 353 women-led digital enterprises from 69 nations championing inclusive digital commerce and sustainable progress. The corporate’s inclusion underscores Africa’s rising international affect within the inventive and digital financial system and marks a significant milestone for women-founded tech ventures shaping Africa’s position in international commerce.

eTrade for Ladies, supported by the governments of Australia, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland, goals to strengthen the position of girls digital entrepreneurs as influential voices in public-policy dialogues on the native, regional and international ranges.

“There are such a lot of ladies operating digital commerce companies throughout Africa; many with out even realising that what they do day-after-day is a part of international commerce,” stated Melissa Kariuki, Founder & CEO of Whip Music. “But, too typically, ladies are neglected of the coverage conversations that outline how that commerce works. For us, becoming a member of this community isn’t simply an honour, it’s a accountability. With the backing of the United Nations, Whip Music will actively amplify its voice in policymaking areas to make sure ladies and creatives are included in shaping a extra equitable digital financial system.”

This milestone follows Whip Music’s illustration on the World Commerce Group’s Public Discussion board in Geneva, Switzerland final month, the place Kariuki mentioned the inventive financial system’s position in international commerce and the coverage frameworks wanted to unlock its progress. The corporate’s inclusion in UNCTAD’s eTrade for Ladies Neighborhood displays a continuation of that advocacy journey: championing higher digital insurance policies, commerce frameworks and infrastructure that allow Africa’s inventive industries to thrive. Its choice displays rising international recognition of Africa’s innovators shaping the intersection of creativity, know-how and commerce.

By means of its appointment, Whip Music joins an influential circle of women-founded know-how companies driving innovation and inclusive progress by leveraging digital instruments to unravel native and international challenges.

Whip Music’s mission is to allow African creators to succeed globally, not solely by offering AI-driven advertising and marketing options however by advocating for the digital insurance policies that make sustainable success potential. Africa’s inventive financial system is valued at US$58.4 billion, contributing about 4% of the continent’s GDP, but it represents lower than 0.3% of worldwide inventive exports.

With the appropriate digital insurance policies and commerce frameworks, analysts mission that African inventive exports might attain US$200 billion by 2030, probably accounting for 10% of worldwide inventive items commerce. Whip Music’s membership in eTrade for Ladies underscores the rising recognition of Africa’s inventive industries, not merely as cultural property however as strategic drivers of worldwide commerce.

“For too lengthy, creativity has been seen purely as tradition,” Kariuki added. “It’s certainly one of Africa’s highest-potential commodities. With the appropriate digital infrastructure and commerce frameworks, African creators can attain international markets, scale new industries and form the way forward for digital commerce.”

Since its founding, Whip Music has supported artists in selling their music throughout the US, the UK, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Ghana, and Canada, enabling them to export their music, entry new markets and develop international audiences. Its data-driven method empowers creators to maneuver past conventional advertising and marketing, enabling measurable outcomes and better management over their inventive IP.

The corporate’s progress displays a broader African motion: the rise of women-led, tech-enabled inventive enterprises redefining how international audiences expertise African tradition.

Whip Music’s inclusion in UNCTAD’s eTrade for Ladies Neighborhood represents a continuation of this mission, making certain Africa’s inventive entrepreneurs have a seat on the desk in shaping the insurance policies that may decide the way forward for digital commerce.

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About eTrade for Ladies and UNCTAD

eTrade for Ladies is a worldwide initiative launched by the United Nations Convention on Commerce and Growth (UNCTAD) in 2019 to empower ladies digital entrepreneurs in creating and rising economies. By means of mentorship, coverage engagement and neighborhood constructing, the initiative helps ladies founders as they scale their companies and form inclusive digital ecosystems.

By connecting digital entrepreneurship with commerce coverage, eTrade for Ladies works to scale back gender inequality and speed up ladies’s illustration within the digital financial system. The programme is a part of UNCTAD’s broader mandate to combine creating nations into the worldwide financial system via commerce, funding and sustainable growth.

Headquartered in Geneva, UNCTAD operates beneath the United Nations Common Meeting and serves because the UN’s point of interest for commerce and growth points, notably these affecting creating nations.

Melissa Kariuki is featured on the official UNCTAD eTrade for Ladies member listing, which recognises ladies entrepreneurs from creating nations driving inclusive digital progress.

About Whip Music

Whip Music is a music-tech firm headquartered in Johannesburg, on a mission to assist artists unlock their subsequent one billion followers. The platform leverages know-how to offer entry to social media advertising and marketing, music and video distribution, editorial playlisting, TV placements, radio, press, influencer advertising and marketing and digital promoting. Whether or not an artist has zero followers or a million, Whip Music empowers them to develop and monetise their fanbase globally.

For extra data, go to whipservices.com or contact hi [email protected].

About Melissa Kariuki

Melissa Kariuki is the Founder and CEO of Whip Music and a Recording Academy member, recognised among the many GRAMMYs’ 13 Ladies Shaping African Music (2025) and Hotlist Africa’s Prime 30 Executives within the African Music Business (2025).

Her profession consists of product roles at Google and Meta, in addition to expertise throughout Asia, Europe, the US and Africa with organisations together with Bain & Firm, H&M, the Gates Foundation and INSEAD. She holds a First-Class Honours diploma from the African Management College in Mauritius and a Grasp of Administration Science in International Affairs as a Patrice Motsepe Fellow and Schwarzman Scholar at Tsinghua College in Beijing, the place she graduated with a 99% distinction for her thesis on blockchain, NFTs and Web3 regulation.